Into The Deep
by Cuz I'm Nice Like That
Summary: Taking her revenge a step forward, Regina marries David and things spiral from her control-She didn't plan on having children with him, building a life with him, or falling in love with him. This story follows the fallout when she comes clean with her husband and he remembers his life beforehand. Will their cursed love survive? Did he fall for her too? *Assisted by nabilanordin11*
1. Broken

"You've gotten too comfortable deary."

She had come to him in search of her sleeping curse and was now being lectured for her involvement in the personal affairs of her cursed self. But really she wasn't cursed, she was just living a cursed life. Her former teacher sat in judgment of her emotional entailments and her recent decisions, scoffing at her attempt to seed the sleeping curse from his hands. He was endowed with no such thing, being truly concerned with the toddler that clung to her and his suspicions thus far.

"You're falling for him." He was a wicked man really, laughing at the interludes between his speech. "And it would be quite the comedy if it weren't so _pitiful_." She recoiled at his assessment, feeling as though she were being scorned for failing to perform a trick or cast a spell. "You've fallen in too deep-Sooner rather than later, the curse will break and the man that you call your husband will wake up and realize that the mother of his child," he glanced over her once more, "children-is nothing more than a desperate sworn enemy out to exact revenge on his real wife."

"So to answer the question you've asked-No I cannot help you put the Savior to sleep, and to answer the question that you're too afraid to ask-Yes, you will lose everything." His last whisper stuck like a blow to the chest, forcing her to accept that she had indeed fallen in too deep.

Later that day the Sheriff entered his house expecting to hear rattling footsteps or smell pasta simmering on the stove. He expected a sullen child desperate to see his birth mother eyeing his adoptive mother as if she had slipped something in the pasta. He walked in the door and found silence, nothing more than faint sniffles and the creaking of the wood against his feet. "Regina?" Walking up the mini flight of stairs, he found the source of sadness to be his wife sitting at the head of the dinning room table with only a box of Kleenex and a cup of tea to soothe her.

"What-" He paused, seeing the suitcases lined up beside her. "Why are your bags packed?"

She lifted her eyes to meet his and the sight nearly broke her. Rumple was right, she had fallen for Prince Charming. She knew this by the way her body ached to be held by him, her lips yearned to be kissed by his and the only thing that had the ability to calm her was his voice. "My bags aren't packed-yours are." He took a step back and she motioned for him to sit, in which he did, almost immediately reaching for his hand.

She placed her hand in her lap, refusing any contact. "You're going to want to leave when I finish."

Finish what, he thought-What could possibly make him want to leave the woman he loved and the family that he cherished. The words that poured from her mouth came in a calm but at points in her story-frantic voice. The tears would flow and he was unmoving, the only change being the darkening of his eyes as he began to go through something. As he began to remember.

She let out a light gasp that could also serve as a hiccup, something he always teased her about but she was with great doubt that he would tease her about it now. Now that he stared at her with full on knowledge of her past, of his past. As he stared at a woman he hated with a wedding band on his finger that bound him to her. As he stared at a woman that he had tried to execute, knowing that a child was upstairs that shared their blood-her eyes and her hair, his nose and his lips. She had tricked him-She had used him, her tears said otherwise but he didn't care about them.

"Where is Charlotte?" Her mouth opened but she didn't say anything, only sniffling in response. His got up from the table silently, his only show of violence being the slam of his chair against the table as he 'slid' it forward. She jumped as it clanked against the floor, hesitating before she followed quickly behind him, making the sudden move to grab his arm.

The ferocity in which he pulled away should not have shocked her, nor should the hatred in his eyes but the little imp was right-She had fallen in and now she was feeling everything. He pointed a finger at her, eyes wide and face red. "You-I am not going to hurt you- I don't want to hurt you because you are carrying my child but so help me Regina-don't push me."

She stepped back at his words, feeling as though he might as well have slapped her. It would've been a easier blow to take. He turned away from her, his only show of anger being the cursed yell he let out as he ascended the stairs and his fist jutted out suddenly, punching a hole in a wall that they had painted together. Seconds passed, minutes passed and what could be transpiring filled her mind. She wanted to act but she was glued to her spot, only daring to move when she saw him once again with a sleeping toddler hanging on his shoulder.

"No." It was a guttural whisper that she knew he heard because he scoffed at her, reaching for the pink and purple coat by the door. "You-you can't take her-" She reached for him again and he yanked from her grasp, causing her to stumble back with a light cry.

He slammed the door behind him and the paintings of their family shook against the wall, clambering with the plaster. She cried, she sobbed-For their family, for their children. She was unaware of how close the curse was to breaking, unaware of how close she was to breaking. Everything was spinning out of control and she could do no more that grasp at the remnants of a life that wasn't even hers to begin with. She wasn't supposed to get attached and she wasn't supposed to have his children.

Her mind got caught up in the tantalizing dream of a family, her mind let go of her plan and before she knew it she had fallen for him in a way that crippled her ability to think clearly, to protect herself and her emotions. She was weak-love at it's finest. Now she had no one, the man she loved having left her with nothing more than an empty house to remember them by. Henry was with Emma per David's request, Charlotte and David were at the Bed and Breakfast and she knew that soon enough there would be talk. The Sheriff had left the Mayor-And later, The Evil Queen had tricked Prince Charming.

She was in a period of self loathing, scolding herself for letting her guard down despite the risk. Her mind had laundered the endgame, forgetting that the sole purpose was to have something to hang over Snow White's head, to be able to take her true love just as she had done her. She wasn't supposed to get hurt let alone heart-broken. But of course, her schemes never went according to plan.

Her heart always got in the way.

Days had passed since anyone had seen her face; she had called in sick each morning, working from home since all the files she needed were on her laptop. She needed time to get herself together, refusing to step-foot outside her house being a broken sniffling mess. Time was needed to regroup and rethink-To collect herself before she lost herself. The curse was going to break, she could tell by the spark she felt when she awoke each morning; it grew stronger and stronger.

Magic.

She didn't have much time to think, so she spent the time that she knew she had doing that exactly. But there were times when she would sit at the dining room table with tea, and a box of Kleenex staring at a door that her joy had walked through. She hated it-That he left with her happiness, that he left with the love that she had been longing for since she could remember. She hoped to maybe, just maybe see him walk through one more time with their daughter holding onto his finger-Three days later she did.

"Mommy!" Big brown eyes lit up upon seeing her mother, chubby legs carrying her as quickly as she could to a woman with waiting arms. Regina had stood from the table, bending at the waist to catch her daughter when she crashed.

The feeling brought a rush of warmth that she had been longing for, that she had been stripped of. "Sweetheart..." Soft words were whispered into her daughter's ear as she smoothed the braid down her back, eyes filling with tears as the tiny words, "I missed you" were mumbled into her shoulder.

"Charlotte why don't you go wait for me upstairs in your room, okay?" When she heard his voice, she stiffened considerably. She let go with a reluctance that was evident, especially when the toddler attempted to hold onto her hand.

"Can mommy come too?" She tugged at the woman's olive fingers, earning an adoring smile that crept onto Regina's face.

David opened his mouth, failing to speak; his wife always did the talking-the explaining, or rather, the woman he thought to be his wife. "I'll be up soon, honey just let me talk to Daddy." She stepped in where he faltered, something that he used to be comfortable with when he didn't look at his wedding ring and scowl.

Charlotte skipped up the steps, humming a tune familiar to the both of them. She left just in time, missing the moment of silence that they shared, that hovered between them. He looked at her and he was lukewarm-He had loved her so much, and there was such a passion behind it. He would have done anything for her love, jumped in front of any train for her safety and moved heaven and earth for her happiness. To have those feelings, all of those memories questioned-To know that Henry was right all along, to know that the life that he once knew was manipulated and he was just a pawn was like having the ground slipped from under him and sealed above him so that he could not escape the darkness he felt.

"Henry and Emma are coming over." He broke the silence with a revelation bound to cause a fight.

"I don't want her in my house-"

"This is as much my house as it is yours-You said that the day you married me." His words silenced her, hitting where it hurt. "Or should I say-the day you accomplished your mission."

"David-"

His brows wrinkled in mock thought. "Or was it when Charlotte was born-" His voice spun with anger and sorrow, the shine in eyes betraying his front and displaying his hurt. "God, Regina did you mean any of it?!" She was silent, pulling the long sweater she wore closer to her body as he berated her. "Because what pisses me off-is that I KNOW I did, I know I meant it even though I was cursed..." His voice shook with an emotion that he would never vocalize, trembling with a rage that he would never show her. "Now I remember everything and I still feel like I'm supposed to come home to you and that-That makes me hate you." He loved her so much that he hated her, he loathed the fact that the curse couldn't erase the feelings that he felt for her even if they were spawned from an evil plot. "Oh what-You don't have any sarcastic comments or any smartass remarks-" He was turning red, his anger penetrating the moment so that he was screaming and she was silent.

"I'm sorry." It was a whisper that felt like rocks in her mouth until she finally muttered the words. It was a whisper that rendered him unsatisfied, staring at the woman that would probably cost everything he knew to be right.

"You're sorry-You're sorry that you used me or that you had my child or that you've probably tried to kill me as I slept next to you-"

"I never-" Her voice rattled with dryness and she swallowed, regaining her strength. "I never...ever tried to hurt you-"

"Physically.." He supplemented, shrugging his shoulders at her words as if they were just another piece to the puzzle, something to add to her list of deeds. "But you can't deny that you messed with my head once in a while and whose to say that I can trust you not trying to hurt me or Charlo-"

"No!" It was a frightening cry that trumped his screams. "I will take your yelling and screaming-your anger." She swallowed, eyes rimmed with reddening tears. "I will take it because I know what I did was wrong but you will not question my love for Charlotte-I love her, I love all my children."

"Oh really-" He spat back, words biting at her heart. "Tell that to Henry."

He knew her weaknesses, because she had let her guard down as if they weren't cursed and they were really married. She had cried in his arms countless times, knowing that she was the Evil Queen but still pained by the fact that it was all that her child saw her as, that he didn't look beyond her past to see that she loved him. He knew her love-her weakness, and he used it against her.

The doorbell rang and a response was not allotted, the Mayor shaking with a rage that she couldn't express and the Sheriff moving to open the door, revealing his co-Sheriff and the boy that he had a hand in raising for 5 years.

"Everything okay?" Emma questioned, having heard the screaming while they walked down the path to the porch. David was reddened from anger, eyes wet with unshed tears that he attempted to brush off as he opened the door wider, squeezing Henry's shoulder.

"Did you bring it?" David questioned. Henry nodded, pulling the book from behind his back, throwing a suspicious glance at his mother. Regina's eyes widened as she saw the oak colored rectangle being passed to David's hands, her own hands reaching for the table for stability as she sat down.

"Hey kid, why don't you go find Charlotte?" Emma suggested, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets. Henry's eyes pleaded to stay and her eyes widened in disapproval in which he laughed, the contortion of her face being an amusement to him. He ran up the stairs and Regina couldn't help the tinge of jealousy that hit her at his willingness to listen to her in comparison with their near non-existent relationship. "Are you guys okay?"

She asked with good reason, never having seen the Mayor in such a mess, a causal mess to be specific. Regina tugged at her sweater once more, looking at the floor as she sat at the head of the table. David ignored her anger, her hurt, and sat down at the opposite side, motioning for Emma to sit as well. He set the book in the middle of the table and heard Regina audibly scoff at his actions.

"What's with the book?" Emma asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Emma we'd like to ask that you keep Henry for a little bit."

"David-" Regina began, voice at a near scream. Emma, leaned forward, not knowing if she heard him correctly not. She and Henry were just reaching that place where they were comfortable, no precepts. Regina was backing off and they were allowed to spend more time together, but was she ready to be his mother-She didn't know the answer to that. Sure, she wanted him and her heart told him that she was right to do so but despite her wants and feelings, what mattered was if she was ready to undertake such a task.

"Some issues..." His eyes roamed in Regina's direction. ".. have come up that we have to deal with and I'm not going to be staying here-I'll have Charlotte and I'd-we'd like Henry to stay with you and M-Mary Margaret's for the time being." He tripped over the name of his true love, his heart sinking at the hurt that she would experience finding out that he had loved and had a child with another woman. That he still loved that woman.

"Of course I'd take him in -and I don't mean to pry but-Why can't he stay with Regina, why aren't you..." Her words faded when David's eyes left hers and moved to his wife's, the ice in his stare impalpable to strangers.

"Regina why don't you tell Emma why I'm no longer living here with you-Explain why Henry can't live here with you, why Charlotte is not being left here with you." His anger was clear, making the blonde want to interject and say that she didn't want to know, that it was none of her business but the staring competition between them was far too intense to interject.

"I am not a child here for you to scold and reprimand." She spoke up, eyeing David and only David. "If and when I am ready to discuss such matters with Ms. Swan-I will, but until then-I suggest you leave the subject alone."

"Oh no-" He shook his head, turning his body to face her in a challenge. "You don't get to tell me how to handle this-Not after what you've done and certainly not with the blood on your hands." He turned to Emma, who was rightfully confused and uncomfortable at this point. "Emma the curse is real."

She paused, her eyes crinkling as she laughed. "Not you too David.."

"Emma-Emma listen to me, you weren't abandoned." He opened the book to the page where his sword was drawn as he held her to his chest and fought off Regina's men. "Your mother and I put you in a wardrobe to bring you here so that you wouldn't be cursed with us, we-"

She stopped him, her hand raising as she turned to look at the paling woman seated in the head seat of the table. "Regina-" Her words fell silent as she stared into the woman's eyes, filled with hurt and loss, anger and sorrow. She looked into her eyes and she saw her history flash before her, she saw the truth. A vivid remembrance of a life once lived but a life she never lived passed her eyes.

When the light filtered her eyes once more, they held the stare of the woman that began it all. The woman said nothing to defend herself and the exposing of the skeletons in her closet continued. For a minute there was silence, thoughts boggling everyone's mind until a question, that would open the floodgates, was posed.

"What happened to Graham?" Regina's eyes darkened slowly and she attempted to put her emotions at bay.

David would have thought that she would want to know about her parents-that he was her father. Instead, they both found themselves staring at Regina who was mustering up the pieces of her broken mask.

"He was a liability to the curse." She spoke cooly, her heart pounding, tears brimming-her face betraying her tone.

"So you-" She gripped at the lapel of her red leather jacket, her hands burning with a fury to ring the woman's neck. "You killed him."

David's eyes widened at the realization that even why they were married, she hadn't changed. "I released him."

He reached for his daughter and she recoiled at his attempts. She stood and slammed her chair against the table, but it failed to fall as it had when her father had done it days before. Regina was unmoving at the sound, at her actions until the blonde made a move to call down their son to leave and found that he was already standing there.

"So I was right."

"Henry." Regina stood, the crumbled pieces of her face falling back to the floor. He backed away even though she made no movements towards him, Emma's back preventing her from doing so.

"You're the Evil Queen-And you killed Graham, I was right." His voice was triumphant but tears filled his eyes at the revelation that he had. No one wants to believe that their mother is capable of what he had long accepted her capable of doing. Emotions were pressed and with a protective hand, Emma took a hold of her son's shoulder before he had a chance to meet Regina's eyes again. The door slammed for the second time that week and once again, their family photos shook against the wall.

Slowly, she sat back down in defeat, noting the eyes that were on her. "Go ahead-Tell me what a monster I am." She dead-panned, no longer surprised by his outbursts.

"I held you."

She lifted her head, rearing back. "What?"

His hand met the face of the table in a hard slap that made her jump. "I held you-I held you when we found out that he died-I was upset, you cried because you were friends-I held you." His words came out as a mantra, the night of Graham's death playing in his head. He couldn't help but feel like a fool, holding what he thought to be his mourning wife when in actuality, she was a murderer.

And the love he felt was clouded by the hate he had for her.

"Charlotte!" He bellowed, mirroring his daughter when his chair slammed once again. She came charging down the steps and he picked her up, tucking her arm when she reached for her mother. He left wordlessly, having nothing to say as Charlotte's hand opened and closed in a show of goodbye.

The curse was close to breaking.

She was close to breaking.

And David, he was close to breaking as well.


	2. Betrayed

_Okay so this is an AU story, it deviates from the canon and set storyline of the show. Also, when reading this story one has to remember that David is hurt and has a right to feel what he feels even if he doesn't express it properly. This is angst, it's supposed to be angsty:) The PMs need to stop, David is not a bad person and I'm not painting him as such, I am merely painting his emotions of betrayal and anger that one would feel if they had gone through what he has. As for time being frozen in regards to Charlotte's birth, that is an aspect of the story that I plan on exploring later on but it will be explained. You're meant to be left with questions. Graham's death was a deviation from canon and thus-it was changed to fit the premise in which I am writing. I hope this does not sound too harsh but I just got some PMs that really pissed me off and I thought I'd clear the air. Enjoy this next installment!_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

It had been two weeks since he had seen her, since he had left her. Time was slowly passing, each day being torturous in it's monotony. People were beginning to talk, seeing him stay at the Bed & Breakfast with their daughter, the Mayor left all alone in the big house on Mifflin. His emotions were strained to not care, to ignore the yearn in his truck to make a couple of turns and wind up in the driveway of a place that he had once called home.

It was as if his heart was betraying him, causing him to love a woman that he shouldn't. The curse had broken on his mind-but not on his heart. He shrunk away from entertaining the prospect of perhaps it being something else. He didn't understand how things could change-How he could wake up from a conscious slumber and have feelings for someone that he had vowed to seek revenge upon on behalf on his real wife.

Besides the hate, there was the hurt. The hurt of knowing that the woman he loved wasn't supposed to be the woman he loved. When Graham had come to him, telling wild stories of dreams and wolfs, eyes a vivid contrast from one another, he thought that the man was stressed, to tired to be coherent. He wondered why he never put the pieces together, why shortly after telling his wife that Emma was seeing Graham, that Graham was seeing unusual things-She disappeared.

When Emma came to their door the next day, eyes reddened and face solemn, baring the news of the fallen Sheriff, found dead on the floor of the Sheriff's station-nothing seemed unusual besides his sudden death. He never thought, he never fathomed that the woman who mourned him actually killed him. Henry's ramblings weren't ramblings-they weren't false contortions of his mind that could be cured from weekly sessions with Dr. Hopper.

He felt like a fool, a deputy falling for the dark haired Mayor, only a pawn in a game of chess that he was bound to be on the losing side of. The nights of unbridled passion they shared, the starry nighted talks they had, the moments of merely looking into the others eyes with nothing more than an adoration unmatched by anything he had ever felt; can one really fake all of that? Can it all just be an illusion, a joke in which he was not let in on?

And if it was, if their relationship was simply a consequence of the curse, of her scheming-Magical manipulation at it's finest, then the feelings would have vanished, right? Like vapor, appearing and disappearing within a second. Instead, every morning he awoke to cinder blocks in his chest, weighing his heart and making breath seem impossible to grasp onto. With the first conscious breath he took, everything hit him all over again. His name was David, David Nolan; formerly Prince Charming. He was married to Snow White for two years, she bared his child-a child that they sent through a wardrobe to break the curse of the woman that he was now bound to. The woman that he had been married to for five years, the woman who bared his child-a child that he lied beside, reminding him with each glance of the woman he now loved.

A love that had him wishing his heart was removable-rather to feel nothing than endure the agony of a hate broiled by love and a love mulled by hate. Two weeks had passed, two weeks of missing a woman he didn't want to miss, loving a woman he didn't want to love, hating a woman that he loved, waking up to their daughter-a constant reminder of his mother. It was two weeks of torture, of slow torture.

He had avoided Granny's since, invertedly making sure that he didn't run into Ruby. She and Regina were odd acquaintances, often sniping at each other. She was nosy, always wanting to know the details of their relationship to a certain boundary, probing David when she knew that something was up. He often wondered if Regina's befriending of her was to keep his and her relationship contained but now he wondered if it had more to do with Snow than him. All of the recent revelations had him questioning everything that he had once shrugged his shoulders to. Now everything had a reason, it had to have a reason.

"The usual?" The red streaked waitress spoke as soon as the door bell rung above his head. He nodded quickly, letting the door clank behind him. The noise had an abnormally grumpy fellow turn to him in annoyance, thumbing a piece of toast between his fingers.

"Leroy." He greeted curtly, the shorter man doing nothing in response as he slapped a twenty on the table and squeaked from the barstool. David ignored him, leaning on the counter as Ruby placed two full coffee cups in front of him.

"Hazelnut, no cream, two sugars."

"I forgot to tell you-Only one." He stopped her, regretting his forgetfulness.

She beamed immediately, taking one of the cups back. "I knew it!" The wolfish grin she gave him brought back the reality that, before him was a werewolf, his wife's best friend-both of his wife's friends. Although he knew Regina was more partial to Kathryn.

"You knew what?"

She pressed the coffee meant for Regina to her lips, taking a healthy swig. Granny rolled her eyes, tapping the young woman on the back and ending her caffeinated pleasure. Setting the cup down, she leaned forward with her elbows on the counter. "I haven't seen Regina either and we both know that the Mayor without coffee is like a dog without kibble." You have no idea how ironic that is. "And I know you're staying at Granny's-avoiding the hella-hormones, I get it David-trust me, I remember those days when she had Charlotte but you might want to get back home before people start to talk."

He nodded, trying not to let on that hormones weren't the only things that he was avoiding. "Alright, I'll see you Ruby!" She twisted her brows, eyeing him suspiciously as he completely ignored what she brought up and continued out the door.

Meanwhile, in a wood adorned flat on the other side of Storybrooke, the daughter that had been avoiding him was abstaining from work with her son that was abstaining from school for the day of a supposed holiday, planning Operation Cockatiel.

She wondered why Mary Margaret wasn't home if they was no school, but she wouldn't know because things had been tense between them. The woman that she knew to be her best friend was actually her mother and only one of them knew it. It was a lot to absorb and too much to go back to everyday life with. Henry was attempting to figure out what her trigger was, what would wake Mary Margaret up from her curse. Emma was more concerned with buying herself more time to adjust before the curse broke.

She had barely gotten away with explaining why Henry had to stay with them rather than the Mayor and her Sheriff husband whom Mary Margaret had a crush on. The conversation only led to why Mary Margaret should walk away from whatever feelings she thought she had for David, despite Emma knowing the truth. Even if her parents were soul mates, who knew what could happen if they got back together-the curse could break for all she knew. Henry said it wasn't possible because she had to be the one to do it but all of the technicalities flew out the window when she thought about it.

It was weird enough that she'd just endured a conversation with her mother about why she wants to clear the air with her father despite his marriage to the woman that brought them all there. Now her son was naming a mission after singing birds in an effort to wake her mother up from the curse and force her to have the talk that she had been dreading since realizing that her parents could be out there, the parents that abandoned her on the side of the road with only her name embroidered on a blanket. She was confused, seeing the blanket and thinking that the child meant to be swaddled against it's soft fabric, the child meant to keep warm beneath it and sometimes lie on top of-that child was loved, evident in the care and hand sewn name. No one does that and then just leaves their kid on the side of the road-No one.

She's been grappling with that since she could remember, so no, no she didn't want to wake her mother up just yet. Having her father awake was hard enough, what with her having to avoid him and schedule her shifts opposite his just so she wouldn't have to see him and face his puppy dog eyes. He wanted to talk she knew but truly she couldn't bring herself to give him that just yet. Let her come to terms with the fact that she was abandoned, just not for the reasons she thought. Let her grapple with the decision that head-started her life and the path she took.

While Emma was coming to terms with a history unbeknownst to herself, her mother was across town on the Mayor's doorstep doing exactly what she told her not to. She advised her friend/mother to avoid talking to David about her feelings, considering he was married and Emma know knew, he was married to The Evil Queen. But always one for trying, the petticoat clad schoolteacher rang the doorbell with the expectation of the ever-dapper Sheriff.

Instead, dressed to the nines with her briefcase in hand as if she were just about to step from the door herself, the Mayor answers the door and the teacher is taken aback. "Is Da-David here?" She stammers, wishing she had listened to Emma.

Regina quirks a brow, closing the door behind her as Mary Margaret took a step back once again. "Why do you ask?"

Her tone is sharp, straightening the intimidated woman's spine almost immediately. "I-No reason, I-I can just-Sorry for bothering you." Mary Margaret moved to scurry down the steps, removing herself from the porch as fast as she could.

"There's nothing that I can help you with Ms. Blanchard?" Suspicious of her actions, she probed, hoping that the inferior woman would crack. Mary Margaret just shook her head with a tight smile, eyes widening with relief when she made it to her car just in time. Taking a moment to collect her nerves, she jumped in her station wagon and went to the Sheriff's station, never learning from her mistakes.

When she came down the hall and opened the door, blue eyes met hers and all that she could mutter was a mousy "Hi," to which he failed to respond. He hadn't seen Snow since he got his memories back and finally laying eyes on her, he expected a rush to overcome his feelings for the unspoken woman. He expected seeing her to lift the cinder blocks from his chest, to help him breathe-to fill the gaping hole that was left when he stepped foot from the big house on Mifflin.

However, all that she gave him was silence, staring awkwardly with nothing more to say. The cinder blocks were just as heavy and his heart was just as weighted. It couldn't be-perhaps it was the curse, maybe if he-He moved swiftly to cup her cheeks without giving her a chance to rear her head back and his lips pressed against hers.

He was kissing her, he was waiting for the spark. He was waiting for the spark that he got from touching a woman that had tricked him. He was waiting for the spark that he got when he kissed a woman that had manipulated him. He waited for her curse to break so that perhaps-whatever was keeping his heart bound to that woman would release him.

There was no wave a magic that passed through the land. A wind didn't blow and a spark didn't ignite. All that she had to say when he pulled away was "Oh my." She wasn't Snow.

And even if she wasn't Snow in mind, she was Snow in spirit-he should still feel something.

His palms held gently to her face, waiting for something he knew was never going to come. She began to take a step back from him, disappointment ringing in her eyes as the man that made her heart go thumpety-thump left her with barely a spark after kissing her with a fervor she could barely match.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his words speaking for more than she knew. He was sorry that he couldn't break her curse. He was sorry that he had fallen when she needed him. He was sorry that his heart now danced with another; his faults fell far deeper than she realized.

She was struck speechless, touching two fingers to her lips as he released his hold. He stared at her, chest heaving with sorrowful eyes and nothing more to do or say. Still glued to the linoleum floor, she watched him grab his coat from his chair, mumbling _'I'm sorry' _once more before disappearing past the watermarked double doors.

The Sheriff left her in his office dumb-founded and wishing that she had listened to her friend, perhaps she wouldn't have a pang in her heart if she did.

Twenty minutes later, the doors to the Mayor's office swung open with abandon. It was the Sheriff, the Sheriff that had walked out on her mere weeks before, and she was barely moved by his presence. Her weakness is what led her to the predicament she was in, her need for love made her weak to him. Knowing how he felt about her, knowing the hate that he had for her, she had no choice but to armor her heart for whatever was going to happen next, whatever lecture she was going to receive.

She stood at her printer as a fax came through and when she opened her mouth for a witty remark, a smartass comment as he called it-he didn't lecture her, he didn't yell at her-he kissed her.

She turned around and he was standing right behind her, eyes watering with unwanted tears. He invaded her personal space and before she could object, his hands had cupped her face and his lips were pressed up against hers. She had forgotten how she missed him, how she missed the tender kisses that he would place on her lips and the warmth that accompanied them. She missed the flutter in her stomach each time his fingers touched lightly against the nape of her neck as his lips embraced hers.

She was lost in his kiss, stumbling backwards when he parted them, a solemn tear slipping down his cheek. "Dammit." He whispered under his breath, shaking his head as he neared her once more and pressed his lips to hers in a feverish kiss that charged the both of them. She angered herself, melting at the touch of a man that hated her, that she had fallen for. Her knees were weak to him, but he didn't care, allowing her to grip his leather coat until he pulled back once more, another solemn tear falling down his face to match the other. "Dammit."

He moved in on her once more, shaking his head before feeling a small palm press against the base of his chest. When he kissed her, for that moment she lied to herself, pretending that his actions had more to do with her than him. That this was him showing her that he felt the same way, even though her broken heart told her otherwise.

His wet eyes met her teary ones, his bottom lip quivering as he continued to repeat himself. "Dammit." When he kissed her-there was a spark, there were cannons. When he kissed her, the world stopped and time ceased to be an issue. When he kissed her, his breath came easy. "Dammit." When they kissed, his heart was lighter. "Dammit." When his lips brushed against hers, the cinder blocks were lifted.

She was silent, back against the wall as he eyed her, as unshed tears pooled around his blue eyes, as the hurt shined back at her, as her mess shined back at her. When they detached, his breath came shorter, ragged. "Dammit!" With a swipe of his hands, all that laid upon her desk fell to the floor. Glass ornaments shattered and her lamp meeting it's end as well. She jumped at the sound, watching as he turned around with his fingers laced around the back of his neck.

"What did you do to me?!" It was a broken whisper strangled by his anger, a sorrowful question from a man that didn't want to be a pawn. He didn't want to play the game, he just wanted to live and love. But now when he kissed his true love, the woman he fought for, that he used to watch sleep while the stars lit up her face-now when they kissed, he could feel nothing but proverbial crickets chiming in the background. No sparks, no attachment, no love.

"What did you do!?" But this woman, all he had to do was look at her and the fireworks went off in his heart. Now he was yelling, the tears caught in his throat as he came to a realization that he didn't want to face. "It's not possible!" She jumped at his words, his rage being something that she had rarely seen. He seemed angrier in that moment than when she told him who she really was.

"Dammit Regina!" Again with the broken whispers, tainted with the struggle of his tears. She was stuck to the wall, the protective barrier that she put around herself slowly crumbling as she watched the man that she used, break before her. He left her office without meeting her eyes, one of the double doors slamming so hard against the wall that she expected the glass to shatter.

He was beginning to feel the hurt, the betrayal, the anguish-He felt it all on a whole new level. And what made it worse was realizing that the love he felt for her wasn't corrupted nor was it one-sided. She felt the same way, and that's why it was so hard. Because he wanted to hate her so that he could love someone else, so that his love for Snow could trump whatever feelings he had for her. But it wasn't working, it couldn't work if there was no love left to salvage on the other side. He didn't understand how time could freeze and yet feelings still changed. How can love, stagnant for twenty eight years, fizzle like that? How could he feel nothing?

How could a love that began as an endgame to revenge be so alive? She had to have done something, she had to have cast some spell. He knew that there was no magic, and even if there was, magic could not make you love someone. Magic can't make magic-And true love is magic.

But he couldn't bring himself to admit that magic, true love even, was what he felt.

She didn't know how long she stood on the wall, a hand clutching at her chest as her breathing calmed and her eyes fell closed with her transgressions. She wasn't supposed to care, she wasn't supposed to fall in love. But she felt like his wife, she felt like he was half of her and she was half of him. So the hurt in his eyes, the heartache-it hit him and came spinning back to her. When he kissed her it was like a soul tie, binding her to the afflictions of his heart. She felt him-every part of him. And that's what made this painful for her, she could feel him but she knew that she could never have him.

Not again.

_Maybe, just maybe things will lighten up a little bit soon :) Review or msg me on Tumblr! Oh and I will be updating TSoaC soon for anyone who reads that-I just didn't know if I had lost the spirit of the fic and ppl were uninterested so I had to go back to the drawing board a little bit. Hopefully I'll post within the week :)_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_


	3. Confused

_I have to thank __**parrilla**__-__**adkins **__and __**inlovewithlanaparrilla**__, there would be no chapter if not for them. I'm an INCREDIBLY uneasy about this chap but I am otherwise inclined to post this so we'll se how it goes :) After the last chapter, that mainly focused on David and his issues, I wanted to have a chapter that exposed Regina and her issues, flaws and all lol This is a different kind of angst, hope you enjoy :) P.S She's about 12 wks_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

Her bed was cold. She would get in their bed and slip under the sheets, feeling the warmth immediately slide against her skin. When night fell and she could always count on his arms to be wrapped around her, the worries went away, the stress was non-existent-any issues, any problems-they didn't matter. Every night when the moon made it's appearance and the stars shined outside their window, casting light shadows on their walls-everything was okay.

But now, the bed was cold and she was left to hold herself at night as darkness fell and the moon failed to shine the same, the stars sparkling just a little less. His words taunted her, the memory of his lips teasing her. She fell weak when he touched her, when he invaded her personal space and kissed her as if the world would stand still until she knew just how much he loved her. He kissed her and the regret rang true in his eyes, the tears he shed being the obvious conflict of his heart.

Part of her wanted to ignore his emotional turmoil but she still loved the man. On her wedding day, she made the unconscious decision to let herself love him, to cast the curse to hell and enjoy the happy ending that was bound to come to an end. She relished in the big white dress and the flowers and the church over flowing with guests-it was her chance to start over.

That was always her problem, never able to see things from hindsight. In the back of her mind, in the dusty corner that she never dared to go, she knew that what they had couldn't last, that it wouldn't last. She denied the inevitable because it helped her sleep at night, it kept her bed warm. She had to curse a thousand to get her one happy ending, do get the husband that she wanted, to have the family that she wanted-she had to curse thousands, she had to hurt and she had to kill-And now the collateral damage was nearing enough to cost her everything that she worked so hard to achieve.

But if she took a moment, to think about the lives at risk-it all seemed too much. Charlotte, her little Charlotte was probably wondering why she hadn't seen Mommy in two weeks, why instead of her pink butterfly filled room she was sleeping in a strange place with yellow flowers on the walls. She probably wondered why Daddy looked so sad, why she never saw Mommy and Daddy together. Charlotte would suffer-daughter of The Evil Queen and Prince Charming, born of a cursed marriage. Henry would suffer, he was already suffering coming to terms with his mother's transgressions, with the knowledge that the woman that raised him had the ability-the capacity to take another life.

And then there was David. She was no longer able to look him in his eyes, to face the pain and the hurt that she had caused. The way that he looked at her spoke volumes to the love he felt but his actions spoke even louder of his hate, of the anger he felt. It was evident that he was battling within himself with each step he took, with every move he made. Everything seemed calculated at that point and she couldn't help but take it personally.

She hadn't seen him in two days, well since he came to see her in his office. She hadn't seen Charlotte and Henry in two weeks and all three reminders were beginning to get to her. Some nights she didn't sleep in her room at all, unable to face the obstacle of laying her head on a pillow next to the ghost of her fairytale-next to what she could have had.

She was being quiet at that point, not doing anything. She was taking the stares from townspeople that heard she had 'run off the Sheriff' and now he was staying in a hotel with their daughter. She was dealing with not seeing her kids, missing the milestones that her three year old was accomplishing-She was taking it because she thought she deserved it, that a punishment had to be warranted for the pain caused, someone had to suffer. She just hadn't expected it to be this bad, she didn't expect a pang in her heart every time she passed their bedrooms. She didn't expect her breath to catch when she woke up each morning and found that there was no one to make breakfast for.

Getting out of bed in the morning was a task in itself, willing herself to place two feet on the ground when she felt like the ground was on top of her instead.

Living like that from day to day was beginning to get unbearable, the agony of knowing that she brought it all on herself being nothing more than icing on the cake. Giving up the fight would be synonymous with giving up her children and that wasn't something she was up to-But she could give up with David. He didn't want her anyway-that's what she told herself. He may think that he loves her now but as soon as his precious Snow realizes who she is, all will be aligned in his mind and she's sure than any thoughts of their reconciliation will be abandoned.

At this point, her safest bet is to move on and let the chips fall where they may even if she was heartbroken in the process. It was better than staring at her door with baited breath, in hopes than any minute-any second, he would come walking through.

She loved him, but she didn't want to wake up with a heavy heart anymore. Fighting with him was costing her her kids, costing her her sanity. She was going to end it before things went any further-Before their fighting consisted of more than throwing glass ornaments to the floor.

So that's why she left her bed at the tenth hour of the night in her silk pajamas and grabbed the first coat she saw before heading out of the house. She was uneasy on the drive over, her heart seeming to beat out of her chest when she came upon the familiar path that lead to the Bed & Breakfast. All it took was a quick bribe on her part to get his room number from Ruby and be standing on his doorstep.

She knocked quickly, pausing before her fist lifted again. The fairytale was over and the bliss was short lived. She was being forced to deal with the dusty corner of her mind that she never dared to go. It didn't feel good, it was blinding to stare her mistakes in the face, to realize that her kids would have to live with her mistakes, that she would have to live with them.

She was in love with a man that she knew could never love her like she wanted to be loved-like Daniel loved her, like he loved Snow. Just the thought, the fantasy of five years believing that he did, acting like there was no curse, there was no Snow and Daniel was just a lost love. It was overwhelming really, the tears beginning to rise as she realized that she would never experience true love again, that what Snow and David had was rare and her attempt to take that was futile at best. She had failed.

Again.

This man-this good man, that she had hurt, that she had lied to, answered the door with bedhead and a wrinkled tee-shirt, his pajama pants hanging from his hips as his eyes adjusted to the light. When the blurriness subsided, he laid eyes on the woman that the town knew to be his wife standing before him in her silk pajamas and an open black coat, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. This was his wife, this was the woman that tucked their daughter in at night, the woman that he brought lunch to on slow days, the woman whose shoulder's he massaged on harder days. The woman that stood before him was not the Evil Queen, but simply Regina.

"I know you hate me," She inhaled suddenly, her heavy heart beginning to weigh on her. "I hate me." Her head fell at the admission, shaky breaths releasing from her chest. "It-it wasn't supposed to be like this, I-" She bent over, feeling her stomach constrict at the mention, as she fell prey to her emotions. "You hate me and I-I hate you." She lifted her eyes, and stared at blue conflicted eyes. "I-I hate you because you made me love you." Her words fell as whispers between them. "I-I wasn't supposed to love you."

There-There was the confirmation that he had been waiting for and that he had also been dreading. He wanted to know if the love that he felt was reciprocated, if he was skipping the flowery fields alone or was she right behind him. But now he knew and his choices were limited, he kissed Mary Margaret and the world spun awkwardly, without a spark or a flame. The choice was clear but the decision wasn't-To let go of the pain that he felt, the betrayal and face the ugly truth that he had fallen for the Queen.

Only he hadn't.

"I should have been honest with you." As she spoke he realized that he fell for a woman with a broken heart. "When I realized how I felt-I should have told you." He fell for a woman who had forgotten what love felt like. "I-I messed up and..." He fell for a woman that blurred the lines between right and wrong. "-And I'm so sorry." He fell for a woman that he didn't know he was waiting for until he got her.

"I just." She was emotionally spent, completely barred in front of a man that she knew hated her, a man that she knew she had hurt beyond repair. And all that she could do was show herself to him.

Without warning she stepped forward, her hands rising hesitantly before reaching the stubble that pricked her hands. She had to stand on her toes, reaching to meet her lips with his as her thumbs rubbed at his cheeks. She pulled away with a gasp, the sobs rising in her throat as the tears left her eyes.

"Regina what are you doing?" He asked softly, feeling her hands gently caress his face with an absent reason. She needed to feel his lips once more, she needed to feel the spark, to forget the curse if only for a second and kiss the man that she called her husband.

"I'm letting you go." Her eyes could not meet his as she spoke, openly weeping before him-showing him the side that he had wanted to see without even knowing that it was exactly what he was looking for. He was angry because she lied, he was angry because she betrayed him, he was angry because the minute he remembered, he didn't see his wife anymore.

The vulnerable, the beautiful, the protective, the complex, the woman to whom he said 'I do'. His arms ached to hold her, to tell her that it was going to be okay even if it wasn't. Part of him wanted to do something but most of him wasn't ready. And so he stood there with bed head and a wrinkled tee-shirt and let the woman he hated to love and loved to hate walk away believing that he didn't feel exactly the same. That the feelings weren't mutual-Because he was angry.

He was hurt.

He was in pain.

He was confused.

One moment he wanted her to suffer through what he was and and moments later he wanted to spare her from the pain-the hurt-the confusion.

"What the hell David-Go after her!" A screech penetrated the solemn atmosphere and he craned his neck down the hall to see Ruby standing at the end of the hall after eavesdropping. He was unmoving, still waking up, still relishing in the fact that she had kissed him, still coming to terms with the fact that he was too angry to care. He didn't have to break things to show her how he felt, his silence was enough.

"David!" She yelled at the dazed man, seemingly unfazed by what he was experiencing. His only response was a shut door, to which she scoffed and fished Granny's keys from her back pocket. Before she could even open the door, it flew open again to reveal that he had grabbed his coat and shoes. He passed her as if she didn't even stand there, throwing words over his shoulder-"Watch Charlotte" before making his way down the halls.

She was still parked on the sidewalk, sitting in her car until the anxiety passed, until the anguish subsided, until her heart didn't feel like it was attacking her from the inside out. But of course, she relived it all when he appeared in front of her car.

She jumped and he didn't care, opening her car door that was surprisingly unlocked. He slid in the passenger's seat and closed the door beside him, adjusting himself so that he had no choice to look at her, and she had to do the same, whether it be his reflection or the real thing.

"You pursued me, allowed me to marry you, had my child-hell you're carrying my child-for revenge, ALL to rub it in the face of someone who didn't even know who she was." He listed her deeds as if she were being tried for a crime, mentioning things that he wasn't even sure of, that confused him. Was it the real thing or was it another chess move in her game?

A sigh was let from her mouth as she tilted her head back against the seat. "Your point?" She was tired of her wrongdoings flying in her face, taunting her, blocking her.

"You lied to me-you made me think that you were someone that you weren't-"

"David I don't want to do this-"

"No-Regina, this is what you don't get. You don't get to opt out-" If she got to let him go then he was forced to deal with his feelings on his own. She was taking away his choices, even if it conflicted him to have them-she couldn't just take them away. "You don't get to surrender, not when you're the one that brought this all on yourself. I'm not going to be the bad one for keeping Charlotte away, for letting rumors spread around town, for not being there for you-I didn't do anything wrong and yet I'm still the bad guy."

Exasperated, the back of her head lolled against the rest. "David you're not the bad guy." It was her that people were painting as the monster, people that had watch them rise as a couple and now were watching them fall-She was the cold Mayor, the disconnected mother, the unattentive wife-the assumptions they made picked her apart, not him.

"I kissed Mary Margaret."

She turned her head in his direction, allowing him to see her eyes pinked with sadness. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I'm in love with you and I shouldn't be." He shook his head, wearing a spot on his forehead with his hands. "Because right now I want absolutely nothing more than to take you home-than to lie in our bed-than to wake up next to you tomorrow morning.." He closed his eyes for a moment, not being able to look at the tears that fell from her eyes. "But I can't."

"David."

"Did you curse me?" Honest eyes looking for an honest answer, something to offer rationality for his love for her-for the unconditional love that he felt but couldn't show her. When she shook her head, he sighed with the relief of knowing that she didn't do this to him and the reality that what he felt was completely and utterly real-whether it arose from fake circumstances or not.

His body shifted and he ended up in the same position that she was in, facing the sky that was all around them. "Why'd you do it?"'

She shook her head in response. "I don't know."

"Yes you do." He called her on her bull immediately, noting her lack of hesitation when she answered him without pause or thought. "Everything you do has a reason, whether it makes sense or not."

"Just like everything you do has a reason." Both were stilled, staring at the stars in the sky and the moon that watched them. "I haven't seen Charlotte in two weeks-You made Emma take Henry away and you left me with no one."

He considered not responding, letting her wonder why had done what he did."I wanted to hurt you."

"You still do." She turned her head ever so slightly, meeting his eye for a brief glance before looking back at the stars. "You may..love me, but you..you don't love me enough to forget."

She was right, or was she? The thought crossed his mind, that she didn't need him to forget-but to accept. Accept what she had done and be able to move passed it. Because the love between them only made him remember more, not forget.

"How do you feel?"

"We don't." Her eyes fell closed as the night began to wear on her and exhaustion hit. "We don't have to do this." They didn't have to play the happy couple and he didn't have to play the concerned husband. She knew how he felt about her, even if she continued to ignore his admissions of love for heer. They seemed so conditional-the opposite of how he truly felt but the only way that he showed her.

"Regina how do you feel?"

"Like my heart's going to explode." Her words shut down his thoughts, giving him pause. "I know I brought this on myself-I know I should have expected this but that doesn't mean that you're the only one that's hurting." When he could hear her breathe he knew that she was getting upset, that's how he always knew. Like when a train was coming, but you don't know until the horn is blown. "Please-please don't ask me how I feel because you don't want to know."

He had opened the floodgates.

"You don't want to know that I have barely slept in two days because you're not next to me-because I'm in a big empty house with no one to share it with and the only time there's noise is when I get up-sick to my stomach at the thought of you, of what I've done-" Her eyes fell closed at the mention." -of what I've lost." She turned to him, her voice returning to a whisper from a raised octave. "The last time that I was honest with you, you left and took my kids from me-You don't want to know how I feel."

She shrugged, feeling all emotions rise to the throne of her heart. "But you don't care, you love me but you don't care."

"Regina-"

"It's a boy." She interrupted him, closing her eyes once more. "I know you care about that." Letting out a shaky breath at the admission, she knew that sooner rather than later-it would be about the kids, not two people who couldn't make up their minds about hating to love each other or loving to hate each other.

"It's too early to tell-isn't it?" He was glad that her eyes were closed, allowing him to beam with fatherly pride, genuinely smiling for the first time in weeks.

She could tell that he was beaming but allowed him the moment. "I had an early amnio-"

"You what?! You couldn't call me- You couldn't ask my opinion?"

"I'm sorry, but you were too busy ignoring my phone calls and trashing my office-Next time you're throwing a tantrum, I'll be sure to fill you in on any news."

"I guess I deserved that."

"I guess you did."

Before him was his family, his wife, his children- a future that was no longer his. The chance to feel sorry for himself was tempting, easier to go along with than asking the questions that he really wanted to. "Can I drive you home?"

"Why?"

"Because you keep closing your eyes-You're either in a lot of pain or exhausted-or both."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, never a fan for arguing with him especially when it came to a pregnancy. "You should get back to Charlotte-It's almost 11, you know she wakes up like clockwork for a couple minutes." He met her eyes, not realizing that his hand lingered above hers on the console,

She slid her hand from beneath his and placed the car in gear, his cue that the conversation was over. He nodded, opening the car door before speaking again. "I'll be by tomorrow for the rest of my things." Her rejection of him was met with his acceptance of their split-of her letting him go. She failed to respond, the only sound being the clicking of her seatbelt and the engine of her car as she pulled away, driving home beneath a moon that shined a bit brighter and stars that sparkled a bit more.

Maybe time would allow them to heal.

Maybe.

_A little mellowness before I pack on the angst-I figured they needed to have a civil conversation, atleast one before things got angsty...again._

-**iiwasalwaysthequeen**


	4. Contentious

_To save you from an angst coma, I put off the major angst till next chap-let ya breathe a lil' bit lol_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

"The floor is open for a brief Q&A session." The quarterly town hall meeting was in full swing and the room was filled with citizens, eagerly raising their hands. One of the council members suggested that perhaps, a way to spice up the meetings and engage the townspeople would be the allowance of an open forum in the last ten minutes of each meeting. Hesitantly, the Mayor opted to oblige the idea, giving it a trial run for the Summer quarterly meeting. However, no one expected the trial to be met with such immediate response, seemingly each hand raised across the room.

Everybody but the three people on the front row; as far as she could see, they weren't willing to baste her alive or badger her with their questions. _They saved that for behind closed doors._ Taking her eyes from the Sheriffs and her son, she nodded curtly. "Mr. Spencer." The balding man stood, the quarterly projections waving between his fingers.

"According to your dandy little handout," she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the indignant District Attorney. "-the Sheriff's department received a significant increase in funds over the last 6 months while my offices-they received a cut."

Seeing were this was going, she leaned forward, hands clasped in front of her. "Your point, Albert?" All pleasantries being thrown out of the window.

"My point _Regina-_is that the Mayor's office seems to be suffering from a case of nepotism." The crowd began to murmur among themselves and Albert Spencer rose his brows, pleased at the stir that he was causing.

As he took his seat, the Mayor's gavel brought silence to the floor, leaving stray whispers and quizzical looks behind. "Well, Albert I don't think anyone here believes that they should be paying for your watch collection-especially if it's so tactfully filed under _miscellaneous_." She scanned the budget report quickly before raising her head once more. "The Sheriff's department received an increase in funds to accommodate the staffing of two Sheriffs-The appointment of Sheriff Swan and Sheriff Nolan from the position of Deputy after the untimely passing of Sheriff Graham." Her eyes invertedly wandered to the front row to see the three who refused to baster her, refuse to meet her eyes. "Does anyone else have _legitimate_ questions or concerns?

A taller gentleman raised his hand, sticking out above the crowd when he stood. Regina nodded in acknowledgment. "Dr. Thatcher?"

He stood, seemingly like a giant in comparison to everyone else. "Uhh-You said that you were taking a 6 week leave at the beginning of January."

She shrugged, wishing the meeting to be over already. "Yes, I did."

"Well don't we deserve to know why our Mayor will be leaving her office abandoned for over a month-As citizens we need to be covered."

"Dr. Thatcher, to imply that I would leave Storybrooke without leadership is insulting. Perhaps you did not hear me when I said that an interim Mayor will be appointed 2 weeks prior to my scheduled absence. As for the reason-it's a private matter."

"Who's gonna be the interim Mayor, your husband?" Leroy shouted from the back, adding to the discontent of the crowd.

"Sir-despite your being out of order, I can assure you that the Mayor's office is not suffering from 'a case of nepotism' as D. A. Spencer so eloquently put it. I would never appoint my husband as-"

"Your husband?" Albert spoke above the crowd, drawing attention to himself once again. "According to the log books at Granny's Bed & Breakfast, you've been living separately for nearly three weeks."

With that accusation, hands flew up and mouths began to run, discussing the latest gossip and chattering whispers heard around the streets. Regina banged her gavel to no avail, losing control of the meeting as the details of her personal life began to spin out of control. "Silence!" The room fell quiet at her command, not even noticing the fear on the Sheriff's face as he watched the persona of her old life come to the forefront.

All eyes were on her as she deflated, her eyes closing at the prospect of telling everyone that they were indeed correct, that the Sheriff had left her. The open admission was like the final nail in the coffin, actual acceptance of what had happened. "Sheriff Nolan and I, we-"

"Have decided to renovate our home." Seeing the confliction that resided on her face, the Sheriff stood, much to his daughter's dismay, turning to face the crowd of silent spectators. "Charlotte and I-We have asthma, so in the meantime, we've been staying at Granny's-"

"Oh-Whose doing the renovations?" Albert shouted above the crowd, making it so that more folks had the same question that he did, showcasing his skepticism.

Wide eyed, Regina looked down at David whose mouth flailed open. In the midst of the crowd, Ruby nudged Gus in his ribcage and his protest was heard through City Hall. Everyone turned to look at him and his red-clad girlfriend nudged him once more, coercing him to stand. "I-" He shrieked at the pain in his ribs. "I-I'm doing the renovations."

"A mechanic?" Spencer exclaimed, not believing one word.

"Hey-he has many talents." Ruby defended, getting the side eye from her grandmother. "He does!"

"This is obviously a cover-up-A mechanic doing renovations on a house that no one has seen him enter?" Albert offered, determined to drag things out.

Before the crowd got too rowdy, the Sheriff intercepted. "How would you know who comes and goes from our home-Are you stalking my wife?" The crowd turned to Spencer, who wasn't expecting the conversation to turn back at him.

"N-No I just-" He was flailing in his sea of instigation. "Why would they need to renovate their home?"

Heads returned to the Mayor and the Sheriff, neither of them speaking. Silently, he prompted her permission to divulge their secret and she gave him a short smile, not being able to stand the act much longer. David's eyes returned to the crowd, met with Henry and Emma's stares of distress as they watched the charade play out, knowing what they knew. "To accommodate our expanding family-"

"I knew it!" Ruby exclaimed, drawing curious stares to her.

David's chuckles subsided when Henry jumped from his seat and ran from the door, Emma following close behind. The gavel sounded, leaving the Sheriff's words and Ruby's outburst to be interpreted at the town's behest. Immediately, he was met with congratulations from fellow citizens that walked up to the bench, stopping him from following after Emma and Henry. Before he could leave, Regina was already out the door with her briefcase, trailing behind them. A confused Gus made his way over and David patted his shoulder, as if to tell him that they would talk in a minute, before following after the Mayor.

Leaving the town meeting, Regina spotted Emma's yellow bug and Henry approaching it. Making her way over, she was blocked by a blonde Sheriff who stood in the gap between the two brunettes. "Miss Swan-"

"Regina, walk away-" Emma warned, her anger still inflated at the revelation that Graham had perished by the hands of the Mayor. She stood, helpless as the child she fought for ignored her presence, turning his head to the window opposite her direction.

Emma was silent, taking quick steps to the driver's side of her car as Regina fought the urge to lose her composure, to walk around the abhorrent colored death trap and take her son back. But of course, taking him back meant nothing if it was against his will. The Sheriff got in her car and buckled her seatbelt, a statement all in itself

A hand touched her arm and she jerked back at the gesture, turning her head to reveal sullen red eyes, stripped of any glitter of joy that she had possessed from hearing him refer to her as _his wife_ once more. In that moment, she was a wife stripped of her husband, a mother stripped of her children and a Queen stripped of her throne-inconsolable by soft gestures or the whispering of sweet nothings in her ear.

"Madam Mayor." A sharp tone brought them spinning back to a false reality in which she wasn't a murderer and neither of them were royalty. The source of the voice was Albert Spencer, the D. A. that she had maintained a cordial relationship with until he attacked her during the Q&A. "Expect my petition for the position of Interim Mayor to be on your desk, first thing tomorrow morning."

She gave him her profile, aligning her features as she pulled herself together. She'd be damned if she allowed such an excuse for a man do anything but see her strive, let alone fall apart. Meeting his eyes, her voice was cool and collected. "Albert, why don't you stick with the bench-You've already proven your shortcomings with budgets and numbers."

"Can't share the spotlight for a few weeks, your majesty?" Her blood ran cold at the mention, his eyes focusing in on hers as if to gauge the reaction that she was going to give him, to see if she was going to sweat.

"What did you just say?"

"I asked you about your willingness to share the spotlight-or the political limelight if you will..." He charmed her with a short smile before crossing into the street.

David stood behind her, his brows furrowed in thought. "Did he just call you..."

She nodded, swallowing slowly as she grappled with the revelation. "He did..."

"Regina.." He paused, piecing the puzzle together in his mind. "What-What does this mean?"

With her back facing him, she straightened her neck and and fixed her face. A bore of neutrality passed over her and she turned to face him, avoiding his eyes as she spoke. "Thank you for handling that-"

"Regina-"

"Thank you." The tight smile that she offers him does more for worry then it does to placate him. The idea of Albert Spencer not only threatens the mayoral position but it threatens her personally, especially if he knows something about the curse. It would offer an explanation for the cold turn in their relationship, relative to his anger with her in the Enchanted Forest-But he couldn't have just woken up on his own.

Someone had to have triggered him.

The more he thought about it, the more Graham came to mind. The more he remembered the off-colored stories of wolf sightings that his former friend would recall, and connected it with the watery illustrations of the Huntsman from Henry's book. If wolves were Graham's trigger-What was Albert's?

Emma scoffed at the situation, letting them know that she was still there and yet to pull away from the curb. Personally, she was enamored by the odd dynamic that the pair shared; What, with Regina's evasiveness and David's off-colored need to care for her despite his feelings. It almost bothered her that he still entertained the prospect of being with her, knowing all that he knew-but of course, it was his business and rather than get involved with their drama, she'd just be there for her son and her friend.

"I was going to pick Charlotte up from daycare today..." She changed the subject, ignoring Emma's presence completely as if the blonde didn't sit eavesdropping in her yellow bug, their son reading his book in the backseat.

David rubbed at his neck, meeting brown eyes that dared him to deny her. "Regina, I don't know if that's a good idea."

Her head reared back at the the suggestion that her being with her own child, despite their previous conversation, was such an ill-advised suggestion. "Why not?"

Emma laughed, shifting her stick into drive, relishing in her adversary being in the same position that she had been in, mere weeks before. "Taste of your own medicine, Madam Mayor?"

Regina's head whipped around, rage burning in her darkened eyes as she felt the sting of her own curse come back to her. "Miss Swan that is none of your concern-The only thing you need to be worrying about is my son." With a flip of her hand, the radio began to blare, tuning the Mayor out as she sped away.

"Regina, maybe-" His offer was short lived, the only reciprocation of his attempt at a conversation being the turning of her back as she strutted down the sidewalk, meeting fellow townspeople that offered their congratulations, their critiques. Ruby talked about kicking Albert's ass and Gus asked if he was going to get paid to keep up appearances. Kathryn congratulated her and she smiled, she nodded, she fell within herself. The Regina that he knew, the woman that he thought he knew, hid within herself as if she were a shell, protecting herself from the world-from the realities.

She shielded herself from the guilt of telling Ruby that she was a wolf, telling Gus that he was a mouse and telling Katherine that she was a Princess. Her eyes were dull, her smile was cracked and the sparkle that was supposed to shine had long faded. Now she was stuck in a dark world, a curse of her own making-miserable.

After talking to her, really talking to her and seeing the battle that she fought each day to not give in to her hate, to not give in to her anger-his own battle began. She was supposed to suffer. Obviously, if you make it rain, don't be surprised when the rain drops begin to hit you too-She was getting what she asked for, what she deserved.

But she was his wife. She was the woman that he had slept by for five years; the woman that mothered his children, that he promised to love, to hold, to cherish-But was she really? That was another conflict; when did the game end and real life begin? When did he stop being a pawn and actually become her husband? When did she start loving him?

That question was powerful enough to decide their future, to decide if they even had a future. It was powerful enough to send him in the opposite direction.

10 short minutes later, he found himself in front of Granny's awaiting a person's inevitable presence. She always came on Fridays, rain or shine, for the lunch specials. Without fail, she came dollying up the street as he stood by the closed sign, knowing that Granny and Ruby probably hadn't returned from the town meeting yet. Upon meeting his eyes, she began to make a u-turn and he knew that she was avoiding him.

"Mary Margaret-" She acted as though his voice was nothing more than whistling winds, passing her ears with only a brisk chill and no meaning. However, she was no match for the jogs of Sheriff Nolan, being caught when he touched her arm and halted her steps. "Mary Margaret we need to talk.."

"David-" She spoke, her eyes downcast so that she wouldn't blush from looking in his eyes. "We have nothing to talk about."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled, looking down at her black flats. "Oh you've said that already." She tried not to recall being kissed by a man that made her heart skip twice but was embarrassed when he ran off, apologizing without even leaving a tingle on her lips.

"Mary Margaret.." His tone was softer as he bent his knees to meet her avid eyes, not missing the pink that began to flush her cheeks. "I hope that we can be friends."

"I don't know David-You, You're married and I..I..." She still liked him, and what better way to end up in a body bag than pursuing the husband of the hot-headed Mayor. She knew for a fact that the woman's bite was much fiercer than her bark-And that alone was enough to scare her into reticence.

"I think that you are...so great." Later, he would wonder if he was speaking to Snow or Mary Margaret, if he had apologized for kissing her or loving another woman. "I think that you are a strong," Snow was a brilliant archer, "...brave," She fought drones of men with only a crossbow and an attitude, "...kind," She overcame her sorrow to see the best things in the worst of people, "...smart," She was able to rally an entire court and combine two kingdoms, "...remarkable woman." She was the woman that he had waited his whole life for. "But you're right-I am married." She was his wife.

And it pained him to think that he could do no more than offer his friendship to appease his lack of feelings for her.

His smile pierced her heart for a reason she didn't understand. It was too deep to be because of a crush, to quick to be because of a kiss, days of age.

"And because you are a brave, kind, smart, remarkable woman-I'd like to be friends."

She doubted his words even though his eyes shined with sincerity. Mary Margaret was smart, she was kind, but she was also shy and ordinary-hardly what she considered remarkable and brave. But rather than combat with his image of her, she extended her hand in mock agreement, "Friends", because acceptance was much easier than actually understanding 'why'.

He opened his arms and before she could protest, they embraced-short lived, but it left her cheeks with more pigment than usual. To her, it was the beginning of what would be an, at times awkward, friendship. To him, it was a decision that he didn't know he'd be able to make until he embraced her and didn't kiss her, until he admitted his lack of feelings rather than fabricating to make up for them. David smiled and Mary Margaret blushed, but her red cheeks failed to compare to the crimson that shone in the Mayor's eyes as she rolled by in her black Mercedes.

She was impatient, just like her mother. He had wrung the doorbell twice and she was jumping all around the porch, insisting that if Mommy hadn't come to the door yet than he hadn't done it right. "Daddy, do it again!" She was demanding like her mother too, eyes widening in a mock impression as she attempted to get her way. He caved of course, his hand lifting once more before he could see her coming down the steps as he peered through the circled windows by the door. Charlotte opened her mouth so wide, an apple could have fit between her teeth. "Charlotte, she's coming..." He insisted, attempting to calm the bouncing toddler.

When the door opened, she launched herself at whoever came through with blinding faith that it would be her mother. Before she could be knocked over by 25 pounds of toddler, she bent at the knees and picked her up, loving the feeling of her small arms wrapping around her neck. "I missed you.." Mumbled words muffled against her shoulder and she could barely suppress the tears in her eyes.

"I missed you too.." Her hand rand down the length of her braid, relishing in the feel of her child in arms, of the warmth and love that radiated from such a small body. "I missed you too.."

Charlotte leaned back to look at her mother, tracing her small thumb along the wet trails on her cheeks. "Mommy big girls don't cry."

Regina chuckled through her tears, nodding her head. "Happy tears..Big girls have happy tears." She wasn't ready to know that true big girls cried for loss and gain, for hurt and happiness. She wasn't ready to know that Mommy had more bad days than good, more sad tears than happy tears.

"Happy tears?" She questioned innocently as they moved from the doorway and David stepped inside, closing the door behind them.

She nodded with a smile, kissing the hand that ran against her face. "Happy tears." Her eyes averted from her daughter's and she was forced to acknowledge him, the elephant in the room. Setting Charlotte down with more reluctance than she expected, the feeling of his eyes on her bored through her skin.

"Charlie horse, why don't you go get some of your favorite toys." Charlotte ascended the stairs carefully but quickly, hair bouncing behind her.

Regina sniffled, turning away as she wiped at her eyes but spoke with a sass as though her mouth was none the wiser to her emotions. "What did I tell you about nicknaming her after a muscle spasm."

"That's it's cute and annoying-just like me." Their usual joke failed to bring laughter, only awkward silence ensuing after his impromptu chuckled. Pulling her sweater closer, she walked towards the kitchen and he followed, still talking when she rounded the corner and stepped behind the counter. "You probably shouldn't be lifting Charlotte anymore." Her eyes lifted in his direction, unwavering as she lifted her mug, leaving only intent brown eyes staring at him as he shifted uncomfortably.

He was trying to offer some light-hearted conversation to combat their usual sullen talks and arguments but she wasn't biting, giving him silence and dirty looks.

"Shouldn't you be getting your things?"

And sass.

His hands fell against the counter in defeat and he turned around, settling on a frothy encounter that he expected to be different. Just that morning they were fine-cordial even and now she could barely offer him a civil gesture. So he turned back around...

"I thought we were working things out.."

She lifted a brow, slowly settling her mug back on the counter table so that it only made a dull clank. "You thought we were working things out?"

"Yes, I mean-We talked and we were fine and-"

"Are you the only one that gets to be upset? Do I have to smile all day to please you?" _Like that damn schoolteacher._

"No, but-"

"But what?"

"But you're like this!" He gestured at her rashly. "All hormonal or whatever-"

"Really, David? You are such a tool-Insinuating that my change of moods can only be due to a chemical imbalance in my body as if I am unable to be upset otherwise."

Her rant made him take a step back, arms crossed over his chest as he studied her, watching her body language. "Regina what do you want me to do-I brought Charlotte over-"

"Oh Bravo Prince Charming, allowing The Evil Queen to see her child, perhaps they'll add that to your list of good deeds." It was a different kind of venom, not as bitter and not as angry-more hurt than anything.

Something that helped him and hurt him was knowing her. Knowing that if she was truly angry, truly, truly angry then she wouldn't even be speaking. The silent treatment worked just fine, silencing her inferiors into submission. But now she's just yelling, jumping from one thing to another as if he had wronged her in every way possible.

She was avoiding something.

"Are you sleeping with Mary Margaret?" She came out suddenly with her answer, so suddenly that the thought to prepare himself was too far to grasp.

"Mommy look-" Charlotte bounded into the kitchen, skipping happily in pink pajamas.

"Charlotte you were supposed to get your toys." David reminded, taking his eyes off of his wife.

"I did-See..." She lifted two teddy bears in the air.

"But you changed clothes."

"Cause I'm sleepy..."

"Well you can sleep at Granny's-"

Charlotte opened her mouth to protest, but the only action was the filling of her eyes and the intake of breath. "Charlotte don't-" She inhaled with jagged breaths, her bottom lip poking out in a full on pout as the tears brimmed her eyes and David's pleas were futile.

The tantrum had began.

"I-I-do-don't wanna gooooo." She whined, falling to floor as she began to wail.

David reacher for her and she kicked at him, landing a hard foot right in the middle of his chest. "Dammit." He muttered, cursing his own self when Charlotte screamed again.

"Daddy sai-said a b-bad word!" She screamed, wriggling out of his arms before running to Regina and linking onto her leg. "Mommy!" Usually one to not to tolerate tantrums, she picked up her daughter, soothing her cries with light circles on her back as she huffed and puffed. "...hate ...Granny's." She mumbled through blubbering cries and being soothed into settling down.

Regina cast her glance in David's direction, raising a brow as Charlotte calmed down, arms locked around Regina's neck for dear life. "Looks like you're making up the couch tonight."

_A longer chap for the longer wait-This chap has set up alllll my angst for the next chap! Be prepared ;) _

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_


	5. Denied

_It's 3 am, I'll fix typos tomorrow. **parrilla**-**adkins**, you're the reason this chapter is being posted today lol. Enjoy!_

_-**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

He's in the same house but he's a floor away lying on the couch instead of being within reaching distance, snoring right beside her. She presumes that she's the only one up, thinking about those that are asleep. The smile from seeing her daughter is residual, tugging at the corners of her lips every so often as a reminder that the best thing in her life is fast asleep across the hall. It's a thought that grounds her when she wants nothing more than to go downstairs and embarrass herself.

Perhaps a peek will ease her mind, just a glimpse to see what he's up to. She convinces herself that looking in on Charlotte will lessen the feeling that she's going to spy on him and reaches for her doorknob hesitantly as if it burned with an impenetrable heat. She was just going to look, just to peek. First, she stops in on Charlotte to see her curled in a ball beneath the covers, sound asleep. Pulling the door to, she makes her way to the staircase and is stopped by someone with the same look on their face. As if they had both been caught.

"I was um-I was just going to check on Charlotte." _That's his excuse_, she rolls her eyes internally, he stole her excuse.

"I already did." She responded, gauging his eyes for a response. He nods, hands on his hips as he stands and begins to wonder why she was staring at him. His eyebrows quirk, a gesture that catches her attention and snaps her from her roaming eyes. She eyed his bare chest once over, "You should probably put your shirt back on."

His eyes adverted as he spoke, flickering between his shoes and the walls of the hallway. "I can't do that..."

"Why not?" The glint in his eyes, tells her what she already knows, that he spilled something on himself. As dapper and strong as he may appear, he was as clumsy as all get out. She wonders why she let him be Sheriff, a klutz with a gun. "Let me guess-Drinking out of the milk carton?"

He chuckled, rubbing at his neck. "Orange juice."

"Hmm." With a second glance, she looks him over before spinning on her heels and heading back to her bedroom. "Follow me..." He obeyed, stopping at the threshold of their bedroom as a wave of nostalgia hit him like a tidal wave. The feeling of stepping in their personal sanctuary, their place of intimacy only to feel like a stranger.

Soldiering on, he steps through the door and follows her into the closet, watching as she pushed a slew of dresses to the side with her free hand holding her middle. Quickly, she locates a plain tee and takes it from the hanger to offer him.

"Are you sure you don't want this view for a couple more minutes?"

She rolled her eyes at his cockiness, throwing the shirt at his face when she turned around. "It's not that impressive."

He passed a hand over his abs before pulling the tee shirt over his head, smirking at her monotony. He knew how she really felt and that she was only trolling him at this point, crossing her arms over her chest as he stretched the shirt over his torso. Leaving that subject, his eyes glanced at the bed, completely untouched exempting the faint imprint of her laying atop of the covers. "You didn't sleep?"

She shook her head, looking anywhere and everywhere but his eyes. "I couldn't."

The two words pierce him as though it was his fault. He could tell that she was still upset during dinner, seeing as though she didn't even eat. She barely said two words to him, all of her attention being dedicated to the three year old carbon copy of herself that threw a tantrum just to stay with her mother. Her question has surprised him, caught him off guard from what he was expecting her to ask him about. He would have expected her to be angry about the lopsided braid he put in Charlotte's hair and not whether he was sleeping with Mary Margaret.

Breaking the awkward silence between them, he decided to clear the air. "Even though I do have the right to date other people-" She scoffed and he kicked himself for starting off that way. "I'm not seeing Mary Margaret-The extent of anything between us started and finished with that kiss."

She nodded, brow cocked as a though entered her mind. "So I can date other people?"

Now she was just baiting him. "Yes-I mean No, no-no you can't date other people." As his face began to redden, she smirked at how quickly he got riled up. "You're pregnant, you can't-"

"I can't what? Have a life?"

"No-You just-We're married!" He blurted ou, raising his voice a bit as if he were actually in fear that she might date someone else. Seeing the smirk on her face was enough to snap him from his outburst before laughs escaped him instead of words.

She yawned discreetly into the palm of her hands, her eyes closing for just a few seconds before she looked back at him, smiling for a reason she didn't know. It was nice, to act in ignorance, as if the world hadn't already crumbled around them, as if they weren't standing in the debris. If only for a moment, everything was fine.

It was nice.

But in all honesty-it wasn't good enough. She wished that she could talk to him, to lay on their bed and tell him what was scaring her-to have someone to bare her soul to. Her history had shown that keeping everything to herself turned out for the worse rather than for the good. She wanted to tell him that her office is over-flooded with paperwork and some days she just wants to kill her assistant that he would now recognize as one of Cinderella's step sisters. She wanted to tell him about her off-colored conversation about comics with the clerk from the grocery store that he would now recognize as one of his beloved dwarfs. She wished to tell him that the woman he left cries every night for her loss, for her sins-the woman he now knows as the Evil Queen.

She cannot escape her past nor can she glamorize it. It is what it is, a wretched story of what happens when the best of the world collides with the worst of the world. When the wretched desires of a power crazed miller's daughter and a cowardly peasant prevail against the wishful hopes of teenage ambivalence. When those who are to protect fail to do their jobs and those who are to destroy exceed at theirs. She is the collision of good and bad in a world where good doesn't always win-She has killed and she has died. She has taken and she has been robbed. She has manipulated and she has been exploited. She has cursed thousands and lives in a universe in which her pain is invalid-in which living mocks her with the idea of a happy ending that it won't let her have.

So no-being able to crack a smile in his presence does nothing to appease the stinging of her heart that occurs each time he looks at her and sees nothing but her deeds and her sins shining back at him-it isn't good enough.

"Regina? Regina, are you okay?" She had fallen from their conversation, retreating to the deep thoughts of her mind, absently minding her stomach that barely indented her night top. "Regina?" She looked up at him, eyes filled with tears that he didn't even know the story of; she didn't even know that his hand was cupping her cheek until she began to sink into his touch.

It was such a habit of his, touching her face when her eyes were hazed with things she wouldn't tell him, that he could never fathom. Would she tell him that this presence was mocking her-that his affection was torture, sweet gestures becoming gruesome slaps.

Her head turned away from him and he realized what he had done, his hand feeling numb at her action. "I'm sorry I-"

"I should try to to get some sleep, I-"

"Sure, sure." He nodded, all too ready to go downstairs and bask in his idiocy. He opened his mouth, staring into glassy eyes that turned back to him, wishing that he would disappear rather than taunt her. He walked past her, nearing the door before his heart won over his mind. He gave into what he wanted instead of what he should do-What he wanted became what he needed. "Regina?"

"Hmm-" He took a hold of her face, finding her lips in a soft in embrace that he had given into after weeks of wanting to. His want ignored her need, her need to stop him while he was ahead. Her hands reared him back, tugging at the sides of his face.

She closed her eyes, not being able to look into his as her head shook with the sobs that wracked her, that she didn't want to cry. "Don't tease me." It was a broken whisper, an earnest plea from the bottom of her heart. Her eyes opened passed the tears that broke her, that finally broke her. "It isn't fair." Her thumbs waved against his cheeks as he realized that she would have been better off with him downstairs, forsaking his want-his need. "And it's selfish." Her hands fell to her sides, having hoped too soon that he was going to stop toying with her.

A part of him wanted to back down, to leave it alone. And the other side-the confused, beaten man that had the occasion to show up-he dared to fight on. "You said you loved me."

She inhaled at the challenge, watching as his bravado grew with each second he stood before her. "That's not the point-"

"That is the point, if I kiss you-

Her hand slapped against the wall beside her, shutting down his arguments. "If you want Snow-" Now she was raging, now they were both raging and thus came the conversation that had been brewing since he came to. "You are going to go to her-Love doesn't matter anymore and we both know that-We BOTH know that-You will die an unhappy man with her than love me in spite of what I've done-You will always choose her-"

"Don't tell me what I'll do-You don't know me-"

"But I do-I DO! And that is the issue-Because I know you'll do the right thing even if it kills you." Her voice fell to a whisper, leaving only the sounds of their heaving chests to pierce the tension in the room. "Tell me that you love me even though I've killed people-" She stood in his face, eye to eye. "That my black heart doesn't bother you, that my cursing you for twenty-eight years doesn't put a damper on our wedding vows-That this marriage doesn't make your skin crawl-Tell ME!" Toe to toe. "Tell me that you won't go back to her the second she wakes up." Chest to chest. "Tell ME!" Head to head. "TELL ME-" Lips to lips.

Oh he was telling her alright, when his fingers pulled apart her top by the buttons-he was telling her. When he gripped her hips so fiercely that there were imprints-he was telling her. When he collapsed with her onto their bed without hesitation-he was telling her.

Hopefully she got the message.

X

Ignorance is bliss-that much is true. However, it is the aftermath that renders destruction. Living in the unknown, casting fears to the wind as if they fail to exist, as if dangers aren't an option. To live as though pain is a figment of one's emotions produces a small jolt of happiness-a short-lived experience in which nothing else matters.

Making love to someone as if they're the only person in the world, joining oneself with another in the dead of the night as if soul ties don't spin when you do so. Though short-lived, ignorance is something to be wished for-the ability to live in a world in which the world stops as you live, when time conducts on your accord-ignorance, it's bliss.

But it doesn't last long-And the wakeup call is brutal.

It's brutal to wake up in something that was once your marriage bed but now feels life a cheap mattress in which you consummated the downfall of your happy ending. She awoke, only to stretch out her hand to the other side knowing it would be cold-that the bed would be made and life was not a fairytale. Perhaps if she lived a life in which happiness wasn't dangled in front of her, he would still be lying next to her but once again-once again, her bed is cold.

She musters the dignity she has left to go downstairs, throwing her robe over the pajamas she wore. When she sees him, she knows that he's a coward-When she sees him standing in the foyer with their child sleeping in his arms, she knows that he is a coward. When she sees him about to leave without even a note to explain his absence when she awoke-She knows that the valiant Prince is nothing more than a coward.

"So you weren't even going to say anything?" Her presence startles him and his attention diverts from zipping up Charlotte's coat to the woman standing on the staircase.

He sighed, looking away as his voice came across as a harsh whisper, trying not to wake Charlotte. "Regina, what-what did you expect?"

"Wha-" The words fail her and the disbelief is all that she is left with. "What did I expect? WHAT DID I EXPECT?!"

"Regina I swear to G-"

"What-What did I do now? I can tell you what I didn't do-I didn't screw by myself-"

"REGINA-Fu-" His hand balled in the air, chest heaving as he stormed into the living room, presumably to put down their daughter. He returned seconds later, ascending the stairs to pull her by her elbow.

She jerked away from him, pushing at his chest so that he stumbled back down. "Don't touch me-" He ignored her, grabbing her arm once again and hauled her into the study as to not wake their sleeping daughter. "I said DON'T TOUCH ME!"

She yanked away from his hold and he let her go freely, moving his hands to the back of his neck as he paced. Pausing, he took one hand and pushed it against the door, slamming it into place. He turned to face her and she arched a brow, eyes wild as she faced him. "What?" It was venomous, drawn by her anger and his actions.

"What THE HELL is wrong with you? Have you-Have you lost your mind?"

"YES!" She bellowed back, drawing out her answer as she stood on her toes. "I have lost my damn mind." He was silent, noting the fire in her eyes, the wild look that he had seen too many times-but not in this world. "Because you keep PLAYING GAMES-"

"Oh-Oh I'm playing games-"

"What do you call sleeping with me and then ducking out before I wake up without so much as a note-What-What is that-"

"What is cursing me and forcing me to marry you-Having my kids as some type of endgame-"

"Oh it comes back to that-"

"YES, IT COMES BACK TO THAT!" His hand hit the wall and she jumped at the sound, only adding fuel to the fire. "I'm confused-I don't know what I want-"

"WELL FIGURE IT OUT-But don't tell me that you want me if you don't-"

Plagued by rage, he was red as he screamed. "I AM CONFUSED-

"YOU KEEP SAYING THAT!"

"Because it's true!" His hand swiped at the desk in front of him and the glass shattered to the floor.

"Oh great-Trash this office too."

"Shut up, Regina." He retorted, tired of her usual jeer. "Stop being a smartass and just-Just be honest with me."

"Honest about what?!"

"Why did you marry me?!"

She rolled her eyes, pinching at the bridge her nose as the frustration began to set in. "David, I am not going-"

"Yes you are-If you want me to stop telling you that I'm confused than answer my damn question-Why the hell did you marry me?" She was silent, her blank stare being the only answer that she would give him. "Regina!" He shook his head at her indolence, pulling at his jaw as he resisted the urge to drive his hand through a wall. _Again_.

"Why bring children into this-this mess?" Boom, another golden question that he was desperate to know the answer to. "Why finalize a plan that was never going to work with a child-With children?"

She dropped her hands by her sides, always softening at the mention of Charlotte-of a child soon to be born into a situation he didn't even ask for. "We weren't supposed to have children." It was a loaded statement, not screamed or whispered.

"So are you saying that Charlotte was a mistake-Tha-That the child you're carrying is a mistake?"

She shook her head immediately, crossing her arms over he chest. "No-I would never, that's not what I..." She watches him and wishes she didn't know him. She wishes that she hadn't spent 5 years studying the man that she slept next to. She wishes that she didn't know the meaning behind his body language, the way he shifts his weight from foot to foot, the dance of his fingers in his pockets, the downcast of his eyes to the floor, refusing to meet her own.

"Okay Prince Charming-" There was no love lost in her words, drawling with each ounce of rage that she trembled with. "Tell me-What do you suppose I do about carrying your bastard child." Is that how he saw their children-spawns of an unwanted union? "If I thought that they were _mistakes_, I wouldn't have gone through with the pregnancies, now would I?"

"Regina I love my kids-Don't even-_don't-"_

"Oh but they are MISTAKES David-" She mocked him, her voice shaking as she contained the little bit of sanity she had left. "Blemishes on your royal garb."

"Oh don't give me that crap Regina-"

"Well it's how you feel!"

"No, No-NO They aren't the mistake-YOU-YOU'RE THE MISTAKE." He shrugged, punctuating his bellows. "They can't help who their mother is."

She was always the mistake. She was the murderer, she is the manipulator, she is the witch-the blemish on his royal garb. Her children are mere products of her situation, of her curse-something that they cannot help nor change.

"I let you go." It was a whisper that he didn't expect. "You're right-they can't help who their mother is-But I love them." Her fingers stretched out by her side, flexing and curling with each pitch of her anger. "I love Charlotte, I love Henry-He may not be mine, truly-But I love him. And-" She ignored the pang in her stomach at the thought of bringing a child into the world under such circumstances, such chaos. "And I love _him-" _She shook her head, stepping back from him. "And I love you...But I let _you _go." She let out a laugh that produced tears, that bared her teeth as she attempted to maintain her composure. "I have a right to my children but we-we don't have to do this."

_No more kissing._

_No more midnight visits._

_No more heated encounters._

"Emma will break the curse." She lifted her chin, discarding the tear that ran down his face as if it meant nothing to her. "Your friends, your family-they'll remember who you are." She nodded, offering a smile that wasn't truly a smile. "They'll heal your heart-You'll recommit yourself to Snow and we'll-we'll share custody."

"But what if that's not what I want?" His shoulders fell, spending one moment wishing that she had been struck to the chest with pointed arrows all those years ago, the next moment being spent writhing with a yearn to be with her-just to hold her, to touch her. Their relationship was like an unstable chemical reaction, ready to blow at any moment. Anything and everything set them off into a screaming match, an argument of no holds barred. "What if-What if I change my mind?" She shrugged, the words struggling passed the tears in her throat.

"Too late."

He nodded, wiping a brisk hand at his eyes before walking past her, not even stopping to get Charlotte from the living room. He just left-She released him regardless of his feelings and he took it, regardless of if he wanted to or not. She asked for one more night, _just one more night_ with her husband. And that was what she got.

That was all she got.


	6. Damnation

_Much thanks to mah road dawg parrilla-adkins for her help on this chap. After last chap's bombs and explosions, here's a little mellowness _

_-**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

Each day it grew harder and harder to mask what she knew and deny what she wanted to accept. Mary Margaret was her mother but she pretended that she was her friend, her confidante in which secrets were placed and girlish laughs were shared. Well, the laughs were of course coming from Mary Margaret, not the Sheriff. She was coming to terms with the fact that the woman that had taken her in was actually her mother, she had mothered her without even knowing that it was what she was supposed to do. But Mary Margaret was her friend first-really, playing the mother-daughter roles at this point would be the act of pretending, not the friendship.

The bell chimed above the door as they sat in Granny's, the sheriff with her cocoa and the teacher with her coffee. As soon as he entered the diner, a shy grin passed Mary Margaret's face. Emma lifted a brow, not knowing the cause of her friend's adolescent blushing until she looked up and saw David approaching the counter, waving briefly before sitting on a stool.

"Mary Margaret..."

"I know, I know he's married-It's just..." She sighed, grinning into her cup.

It wasn't just that he was married, but it was the fact that they were cursed and there was no need to add fuel to a roaring flame. Technically he was cheating on Snow, considering he had knowledge of who he was. Delaying the hurt, she needed to ward of their relationship as long as she could-at least until the curse broke.

"I need a refill." Mary Margaret stood and Emma rolled her eyes, knowing that the woman could have waited until Ruby came back around but she insisted on going up to the counter where the object of her affection sat waiting on his coffee.

She put her cup down and Ruby nodded, pouring the beaker over her cup until it was three quarters full. Mary Margaret met David's eyes and she smiled, a smile that he returned-which kept her smiling even longer.

"Hey..." Ruby, the ironic bite of reality, interrupted their flirtatious stare, tapping the schoolteachers cup with her over sized nail to let her know that she could go.

Mary Margaret nodded her thanks and reached over his arm for the sugar, knocking her cup all over the sullen Sheriff. Whether it was intentional or not, no one could tell-but the wolf did speculate.

"Oh David I'm so sorry-" Ruby handed him a dish cloth and Mary Margaret took it from her, earning a wide eyed stare as she patted the Sheriff down. "Let me get that for you.."

She patted his chest briefly, fidgeting when she got to the stain that reached the seat of his pants. He chuckled, lightly taking a hold of her hand that held the cloth, lifting it from her grasps. "I'm okay-thank you." She smiled sheepishly and nodded, stepping aside as he stood and wiped himself down. Occasionally looking up to see her standing there, he decided to make friendly conversation, maybe even more than friendly.

After all-he had been let go.

"You know, we should go out for coffee sometime." He suggested, setting the rag on the counter. Ruby paused, taking Mary Margaret's empty cup for disposal.

She was beaming from ear to ear, biting her bottom lip as she nodded shyly. "We really should...as friends of course."

He chuckled, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Yeah...friends."

"Hey Mary Margaret, doesn't school start soon?" Emma spoke up, basically trying to end their conversation, the cute little laughs and the subtle blushes. The schoolteacher nodded, offering a cheeky smile and twinkling fingers as she passed him by, scurrying over to the sheriff that was already heading out the door.

"Coffee, David?" The waitress spoke up as soon as the door closed, eyeing the man suspiciously.

Catching her drift, he huffed. "Drop it Ruby."

"How's your wife?" She slapped the cloth down on the counter, wiping off the residual coffee. "You know, the Mayor-Mother of your children?"

"Ruby, seriously-cut it out, there's nothing going on."

Ruby nodded knowingly, not believing a word. "How far along is she? 14, 15 weeks?" She reached for the two coffee cups beside her and placed them on the counter. "One regular, one hazelnut _decaf_."

David scoffed, getting off the stool and storming towards the door without another word. Ruby squinted at him, watching as he turned the corner, probably going to go get a change of clothes.

Ruby turned around and Leroy began to sip the coffee that was intended for David. She gave him a blank look that he only returned with a shrug and snark. "Well he obviously didn't want it..."

X

It had been over a week since she'd seen him, waiting each day for him to come back demanding their daughter. But he didn't-when he left, he actually left. Part of her was relieved that her heart was no longer in a ping pong match but most of her was anxious. The curse was close to breaking and soon people would know who they were, who she was-what she had done. He would be in the mob that stormed her doorstep, demanding her head on a silver platter-wanting his vengeance.

They had taken Henry. They would take Charlotte again, she expected it completely. They'd wait out her pregnancy and kill her-she knew. They tried to do it once before and this time they'd succeed. Looking at him from across the table, she wondered if he'd pull the guillotine.

He was ready to see an arrow in her chest before; she was sure this would be no different.

"Madam Mayor?" She was forced to step away from her thoughts and address the heads of departments staring at her, awaiting her response. She sat up, pulling the lapel of her blazer forward. Quick on her feet, she called into remembrance the topic and took command of the meeting.

"As of right now, Albert Spencer is the only volunteer for the position but I don't foresee appointing him."

"Well then who will do it? Someone has to-it's too long of a time period to not have someone in charge" A gray haired council woman spoke up, seemingly vying for the job herself.

She was stoic, thinking that Snow White would probably be running the town by early January. All of this planning was just for show, things were sure to crumble before then.

"Then you leave me no choice but to shorten my leave of absence." She ignored the choking sound that came from the end of the table, presumably from the man others knew as her husband. Her eyes glanced up briefly and his eyes were wide, disapproving of her decision.

"But someone will still have to fill in for you...Who will it be?"

"That decision is pending further deliberation." She leaned forward, closing her binder as she looked over the table. "If that's all..." The longer she sat there thinking about her future, staring at the man that despised her and his daughter, who probably despised her almost as equally. "Mrs. Truman-anything further on the school-budgetary issues, how's the construction in the left wing coming along?"

"Very well. I don't believe I have anything else."

"Sidney? The Daily Mirror-Will you be covering the Miner's Day Festival this weekend?"

"As always."

"Chief Wallace, may I assume that all is well with the hospital?"

"Yes you may, Madam Mayor."

"Okay Sher..." The word faded from her lips, a lump forming in her throat at the thought. Nowadays, the mention of his name brought a beat of anxiety to her chest. "Sheriff Swan, Sheriff...Nolan." Emma met her eyes but he didn't, preferring looking at his nails rather than her. "Any concerns?"

Emma looked to David who was unresponsive. Turning back to the rest of the table, she sputtered, annoyed that he was being so childish. "Uh-we-Um, we're good, yeah we're good."

Regina nodded, not taking his insolence lightly. "Anything to add Sheriff Nolan-or are your cuticles more important?"

David shrugged, ignoring her snipe. "We're good." He never even looked up, still staring at his nails.

She almost wished that he would respond, that she could get a little rise out of him. It was as if he didn't care, as if he was completely detached. The board members looked at her and she sighed, pulling herself together. "Is the council content?" The general board members nodded and she stood, picking up her binder. "Well then, I suppose we're done here. As usual lunch, catered by Granny's, will be served in the dining hall..we're adjourned."

The group picked up their binders and briefcases and moved to the dining hall sans the Mayor, not that either Sheriff noticed. In the dining hall, Ruby stood behind the buffet table putting the final touches on the set up; it was self-serve after all.

"Hey Emma.." Ruby greeted, giving the blonde Sheriff a hug. "Why are you smiling, I thought you hated these meetings?"

"I do." She shrugged, picking up a plate. "But it's a buffet Ruby-It's worth the torture." Ruby chuckled as the blonde moved forward, skipping Sidney who was the first in line.

Looking into the group of department heads and council members, there was one person missing. She usually came in and fellowshipped a little bit, fulfilling her Mayoral duty. But this time, she was nowhere to be seen. "Hey David..."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Regina?"

He shrugged, cutting himself a piece of apple pie, always one for sweets rather than actual food. "I dunno-her office probably."

The red clad waitress squinted, eyeing him wearily. She picked up the knife he dropped and cut out a piece of pie about the same size as his. "Why don't you take her something.." She held out the plate. "So she won't have to walk back and forth."

Emma rejoined the group, her plate filled with wings and bread rolls. "When you get back, tell Granny how much I love her."

Ruby chuckled, her attention still on David as he blatantly ignored her, getting a piece of cherry pie as well. "David?"

"She can get something herself." He retorted, annoyed by her persistence.

"David, don't be an ass, take her some pie." She held out the plate and he turned his back. The former werewolf scowled and Emma held out her hand, clutching a chicken leg.

"C'mon, don't push him Rubes..."

Ruby scoffed and stormed off, going in search of the Mayor herself. Coming upon the door, marked by her official title, Ruby pushed the door open and stopped in the entranceway when she heard an audible sigh.

The Mayor was turned away from the doors, the only thing she could see being the long leather back of the chair that she sat in. "I guess that one could only hope that you would all get the message and leave me be but I suppose no one pays attention to me anyway."

"I'm sorry I just-I thought you might want some pie." Regina spun around in her chair, a regretful expression on her face as the young waitress stepped forward.

"No, no-I didn't know it was you, I..." She wasn't good with apologies nor was she used to people actually caring enough about her-_people she didn't marry in a cursed life._ It was foreign territory and she treated it as such. "Thank you for the-"

"Apple pie-Mrs. Truman almost lost her hand last meeting when she tried to take the last piece." Ruby chuckled, happy to see a smile on the Mayor's face. It was faint, but it was there. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, I'm fine dear-Thank you." Usually that would have been a dismissal for anyone else but the feisty red streaked woman. She wasn't buying it for a second, especially since she should've been kicked out by then, but was currently just standing there staring at a woman with the temperament of an angry dwarf. "Is there something else?"

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, hip cocked to the side. "You're a bad liar-What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She defended, shrugging her shoulders.

"Another lie-If it was nothing than you wouldn't have denied it, you would have just rolled your eyes and told me to get out." She sat down in one of the chairs opposite the Mayor, leaning forward with intent ears. "Spill."

Regina knitted her brows in confusion. "Spill? Spill what? I don't see a liquid anywhere-And why would I intentionally spill something?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I meant 'tell me'-There's obviously something wrong."

"Honestly, there's nothing to tell." She shrugged, her hand drifting to her stomach that barely bulged through her shirt. "I just haven't been feeling that.." When the words left her mouth, the pain could've doubled her over had she been standing. It was like a tight rope wrapping around her abdomen, constricting her movement, her breathing. If only for a few seconds, it was sharp and quick but strong enough to stop her from talking.

"Regina?" Ruby stood and the Mayor held up her hand, closing her eyes momentarily as it passed, breathing through it.

"I'm fine-

"Regina.."

"Really-I'm fine, it's nothing."

Ruby eyed her carefully, squinting at the usually intimidating woman. "Fine-but I swear Regina, if something is wrong with my godchild and you're just sitting here on your ass talking about _'you're fine'..._"

"Miss Lucas-"Ruby rolled her eyes, the call of her last name not phasing her anymore. "Right now I'm fine but in two seconds, you won't be."

Ruby scowled playfully, still eyeing the Mayor carefully. "Fine, but I'm watching you."

Regina shook her head, still not knowing why she was friends with the red streaked waitress from Granny's. "I'm sure you are."

X

The werewolf returned to the dining hall to find most of the board members sitting and eating at separate tables. Specifically, she was looking for David and found him eating his pieces of pie with Emma and surprising Sidney. Emma kept eyeing the journalist as he was eating, wondering why the hell he would pick up a knife if he was going to eat a wing.

"Sidney, really?" Emma exclaimed, watching as he sliced into the meat as if it were a slab of pork. "It's a wing-You pick it up and you eat it."

He shivered, shaking his head as he continued to cut his chicken delicately. "That's so...barbaric."

"God, you sound like Regina." Emma mumbled, fanning out her elbows to have more room away from him as if his eating customs were contagious Seeing the red streaked brunette approach, Emma waved her closer, pointing at Sidney with her right hand. "Ruby, please tell this man that you don't use a fork and a knife to eat a chicken wing."

"Regina does."

Emma sighed, shaking her head. "So?-It's Regina, she's not normal." Ruby laughed, her eyes drifting to David who didn't seem the least bit bothered by his wife's name coming up in conversation.

"Speaking of Regina..." Emma's eyes looked up from her wing, warning the waitress not to go there. "Why don't you go see how she's doing?" It was as if the world was on mute and the former Prince could see nothing but his pie. "David." He was ignoring her, blatantly ignoring her-because he didn't want to see Regina. She had let him go, taken away his options and sent him through her door broken and angry. It seemed like things were better when they were screaming and yelling at each other, sharing midnight kisses in the midst of it all; now there was just silence, awkward stares and pent up anger that no one wanted to talk about.

He didn't want to let her go, he didn't want to be sent away-but he had given her no choice. He was still failing to see that they were just hurting themselves and the longer they went back and forth with each other, the longer it would take to repair everything. She knew that if he wanted to go back to Snow, he wouldn't be able to if he stayed with her-And she also knew that id he wanted to come back to her, they wouldn't be able to work it out constantly arguing-Whether he realized it or not, she did this for the both of them-She was stopping the bleeding.

"David." Ruby thumped him on his head and he dropped his fork, pausing in his movements.

Emma put down her wing, wiping of her greasy fingers with the napkin by her elbow. "Ruby leave him alone, c'mon."

"No-he's being an ass." She enunciated her words and David ignored her, picking his fork back up.

Sidney stood up with a smile. "I'll go check on her."

David stood immediately, throwing his napkin down and charging towards the double doors. Ruby looked at Sidney as he sat down, cocking her head to the side. "Who knew your weird thing for Regina would do some good one day?"

"I don't have a thing for the Mayor..."

Ruby sat down in David's seat, picking at his untouched pie, meeting Emma's eyes as they chuckled under their breath. "Sure ya don't..."

On the other side of City Hall, David was standing in the doorway, receiving an incredulous look after bursting though the door without so much as a knock. She was expecting it but then again she wasn't, looking him up and down to find a confused man, red and heaving.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah-Get Ruby off my back and tell her to leave me alone!" Regina recoiled at his demands, leaning forward as he yelled by himself, seemingly for no reason. "I don't know what you told her but..."

The more he talked, the more painful it became. She almost wished that there was magic in their little town so that she could mute him, ignore his berating and yelling. At this point, he was completely tuned out, lips moving with no sound.

"Regina? Are you even listening to me?"

"No." She answered simply, hissing at the pain that struck her without remorse. Her eyes fell closed for a few seconds before she rejoined him in the moment, his yelling and her silence. "If you're done screaming at me, I think you need to leave."

He was unmoving, silently staring back at her in defiance. Her hands slammed against the desk just as his hands had done mere weeks ago. "Get out!" He turned around in a huff, storming out of her office, allowing the door to swing open and slam shut.

He left city hall and kept walking, walking and walking. Emma was his ride so he didn't have his truck but he didn't mind. He just walked, never minding his destination. He found himself in the school, his mind failing to know why he was there but his heart knowing exactly who he was in search of. After dropping Henry off countless times, he knew where her classroom was, finding it to be empty while the kids were at lunch and recess. She stood at her chalkboard, writing down her lesson plans without knowledge that he was right behind her.

"Mary Margaret, I want to be more than friends." Startled, she turned around, eyes wide as he stood before her. "I keep thinking about you." He kept thinking about what would happen when Snow woke up. "I have feelings for you." He felt guilty for being with another woman. "I want you." He wanted both but had been rejected by the other.

"David I...I don't know what to say."

"Say you want me too.

The schoolteacher's mouth flailed open, at a loss for words. "I want you too."

He wanted her and she wanted him, both for their own reasons; She was lonely and smitten and he was guilty and broken-They didn't have sparks with one another but at the time, neither of them could care.

He approached her her and she allowed him to kiss her, feeling a tinge of disappointment that there was still no change. It was as bland as before but she stayed in the kiss for the long haul. After all, they were destined to be together. Destiny was the best curse of all, an inescapable damnation to whatever life holds for you, only to be altered by true love. And if they were meant to be, then they could make it work-they could change their destiny.

He pulled away, hiding his feelings with a faint sile. Kissing her had scared him because it still wasn't the same, it was even worse then before. There was absolutely nothing between them-but between his broken need to be with somebody and her school girl crush on him, neither of them seemed to care.

The only person that did care, seemed to be the person that neither of them saw standing in the doorway, having forgotten something in the classroom.

Henry.


	7. Failed

"I'm sorry, this...this has never happened to me before." The Sheriff mumbled under his breath, tugging at the sheets that met his waist. The schoolteacher laid beside him, holding white sheets up to her chest with a sympathetic look. "I um..."

"Don't." Her hand covered his as she smiled, trying to hide her disappointment. "Don't apologize. Maybe we're just not meant to be."

He sat up, shaking his head in disbelief. They had to be meant for each other, they just had to be. Good always won, and what was true love if it could be so easily fizzled out by a curse, by five years of a life that he didn't voluntarily chooses? True love was supposed to be the most powerful magic of all, it was supposed to transcend realms and break curses. It was supposed awaken the sleeping and destroy the bad-they're love was supposed to be true.

But it was his feelings for her that weighed on him like a curse, while his love that lain on Mifflin Street provided the truth that he was looking for.

True love was genuine and natural. Nothing can force true love because the forces of the world have already orchestrated everything. Nothing was supposed to be able to change that. But here he was, lying next to the woman that his heart was supposed to beat for, that his breaths were supposed to come easier around, feeling as though he had just cheated on the woman that his heart did beat for, that his breath did come easier around.

But therein lied his dilemma. Snow White was his wife, without a shadow of a doubt. He knew that he stood before thousands and proclaimed his love for her, knowing in his heart that he wanted to love her, to build a family with her, to rule with her, to die with her. But he is sickened to realize that it is only in his mind that those feelings lie. His heart belonged to another, his heart was wed to another and nothing he did was changing that.

But he wouldn't admit it.

He would fake it until he felt something, until a spark-anything, just something appeared between them. What they had couldn't just go away, they had worked too hard. He had fought too long for her. Perhaps he had forgotten how hard he fought for the one he truly wanted, how long he waited.

Or he was ignoring it.

"You should go...before Emma and Henry come back from the park." He nodded, still feeling like two copper pennies for failing to succeed in his plan.

"Would it be too scandalous if I brought you something from Granny's?"

She chuckled, leaning into his shoulder. "I believe you owe me more than that but it's a nice start."

His cheeks flushed red and he pulled one of the sheets up with him, covering his exposed self. "What can I get you? Breakfast food? Pie? Cake?

"Oh no, Granny's food is good but her cakes never seem to rise enough." She spoke without thinking, noting his red face. Embarrassed and hungry, the Sheriff collected what was left of his dignity and picked up his pants.

"I'll just get you some eggs."

X

The bells chimed over the door and no one cared to look and see who came through, no one but the smiling werewolf that didn't know that she was a werewolf-she looked up and greeted the pair with a wave and a grin. Ruby leaned forward with her elbows on the counter as Regina stopped in front of her, smiling down at the mini reminder of herself.

"Hi!" Charlotte beamed shyly, waving her hand at the woman that let her have an extra slice of pie when her mother wasn't looking and slipped her a piece of candy on the sly.

"Hi..." Ruby dipped her head, extending her arms as Regina lifted the toddler onto one of the barstools.

The Mayor winced and the waitress lifted a brow, pushing three crayons and a color sheet in front of Charlotte. Regina waived her hand, taking Charlotte's coat off from behind before hanging it on the back of her chair. "It's nothing-She's just heavy."

Not believing a word, the werewolf rolled her eyes and set her elbow on the counter, tapping her nails. "So how long have I got the munchkin?"

"15-20 minutes tops." Ruby nodded as Regina's hand played with the fish tail braid down her daughter's back. Seeing one of the bows so loose, the Mayor pocketed one and adjusted the other so that it clipped straight to the end of the braid. "No cinnamon, no dairy, no chocolate."

Ruby squinted, slouching in disbelief. "What mother doesn't let their child have dairy-or cinnamon-or CHOCOLATE?!"

_I swear, for a canine-She doesn't listen at all. _"Unless you want a swollen, nauseous three year old singing about Elmo and Big Bird than I suggest you follow suit."

"Fine-Orange juice and oatmeal."

"Oh-No oatmeal."

"She can't have oatmeal either?!" Ruby exclaimed, looking at Charlotte sympathetically. She wasn't paying either of them any mind, coloring absently at the bubble lettered _Granny's _sign on her paper.

She grimaced, shaking her head."No I can't take the smell." The Mayor clarified, pressing a quick kiss to Charlotte's temple. "I'll be right back sweetheart."

"Mommy, can I have a cookie?" Charlotte asked sweetly, looking up with big brown eyes.

Regina hesitated, usually not allowing any sweets so early. Ruby nudged Charlotte discreetly, whispering in her ear "Poke your lip out.."

Charlotte did as she was told, poking her lip out as she gave her mother an irresistible pair of puppy eyes, swinging her feet on the barstool. Ruby threw her hands up, watching the Mayor debate within herself. "How could you say 'no' to that face?" She took hold of Charlotte's jaw gently, smooshing her cheeks together. "Look at those cheeks!"

"Give her the damn cookie." Leroy grumbled beside them, shaking his head as he hunched over his eggs and bacon. "All this cuteness is ruining my breakfast."

"Please Mommy..." Charlotte capitalized on Leroy's grumpiness and Ruby's pleading. Regina chuckled, three pairs of eyes staring at her waiting for an answer.

With a dramatic sigh, she conceded. "Fine."

Charlotte beamed happily and hugged onto her mother, sticking out her neck to press a wet kiss on her cheek. "I love you Mommy!"

Regina kissed her head as she pulled away, smoothing her hair down as Ruby moved to give the toddler a high five. Charlotte gave Ruby a high five before turning around, her small palm raised to the cranky janitor. Leroy sneered and Ruby nearly growled, prompting the man to lift a reluctant hand, not being able to help the tiniest bit of a smile that tugged at his lips when her little hand hit his. The Mayor proceeded to the door, stopping in her tracks. "But only ONE." She held out a finger and all three of them nodded vigorously, watching as she left the diner.

Ruby chuckled, twirling one of Charlotte's crayons between her fingers. "Two." Charlotte smiled and Ruby pushed away from the counter, strutting off to the kitchen. "They're still in the oven..almost done though."

Leroy leaned over, casting his glances elsewhere as he made his request. "Can I have one too?"

Ruby smirked, nodding at the gruff man. "Sure Leroy, you can have a cookie."

Around the way, Regina was heading to see a man that she didn't like to visit. She didn't like to need him, to have to go to him for her issues. He always had too much power, to much ability to pull the strings behind the puppet. And at this point she couldn't beat him-So sometimes she had to join him, or in this situation, seek his help.

"How do I break the curse?"

His hands polished something that shined when the light hit it, seemingly gold but she couldn't quite tell. "I always thought it was just an old wives tales..." He looked up with a sly grin. "..pregnancy induced amnesia."

"Gold, I don't have time for your games."

"I'm not playing any ." He shrugged innocently, eyes flickering between her face and his hands. "I told you that the child born of true love will break the curse."

"Well she knows and the curse isn't broken."

"Not my problem dearie." He blew on the gold in his hands, shining vigorously. Upon closer inspection, it was goaded with silver and ribbed cloth, thick in it's making.

"You bastard."

He chuckled, seemingly unaffected. "Obviously the hormones weren't a myth."

He didn't raise his head and was ignorant to her line of sight, but of course he probably intended for her to see what he was shining. Another one of his possessions, commodities acquired through trade and trickery.

"That's Midas' glove."

He lifted it up to the light, catching the smaller spots that he couldn't see that clearly. "That it is..." After doing so, he placed the glove on the counter, grabbing his cane before walking around the glass cases to meet the Mayor face to face. "Shall I explain or have you made the effort to figure it out?"

She was silent, processing the pieces of the puzzle-but there was always something else, something that wasn't obvious in plain sight. Her silence beckoned him to do some story telling and he did just that, rounding the Queen as if to encamp about her.

"I said that the child born of true love shall break the curse but I didn't say how." He stopped in front of her, watching as she grew impatient. "Let's just say-When our dearest Savior arrived she..._activated _some things."

"Like what?"

"Oh you can't be that daft dearie-the wooden parents of Jiminy Cricket's confidant, the cloak of Red Riding Hood, the Golden Glove of King Midas-"

"They're triggers.."

"Precisely!" He spun his cane on it's cap, producing a small squeak as it rubbed against the wood. "A glance is all it takes to awaken a cursed soul-"

"But Emma hasn't done anything." Regina exclaimed, growing frustrated with his half answers. "How can anything be activated if all she did was show up and take my son?!"

"Her presence is enough-ALL she had to do was show up." He sauntered back to the glass, retreating behind it. "The final battle has begun dearie-I suggest you prepare yourself." His eyes met her and for the first time in their conversation, she knew exactly what he meant. There was no riddle to decode or analogy to straighten out. The battle had begun, but not one of swords and crossbows.

Hearts were to be broken, boundaries were to be tested and the world that they lived in was soon to be turned upside down. Her issues with David were just the tip of the iceberg.

She wanted out of the shop, knowingly overstayed her welcome. It was constraining, the energy was asphyxiating-Though magic failed to be in their world, it's spirit seemed to live on in the things that the imp kept on his shelves and behind shined glass. Something, however, caught her attention.

"The cloak." She pointed to the red velvet hood hanging on the coat rack in the very corner near his office. The material dragged to the floor, short enough to be worn but long enough to surpass the hanger.

"What of it?"

"What do you want for it?"

Before he crossed over to the glass again, he met her back in the middle, looking her over in a discursive manner-not really minding the details. "It's on the house."

She furrowed her brows, not buying a word. "Nothing is ever free with you."

"Yes, but with the whirlwind that's about to hit you-you'll be back, and you'll I have something I want." He limped passed her, coming back with the red velvet she sought. She took it from him hesitantly, folding it until it fit into her purse-away from prying eyes.

Without a word, she turned to leave but his voice eerily rang in her ears. "You seem to have dropped something Your Majesty." She turned around to find him holding a cloth bow pin, the bow that refused to stay in Charlotte's hair. He extended it towards her and she took it hurriedly, making a mental note to burn it when she got home, not knowing if he made it a talisman.

He smiled and she turned to leave, ignoring the churning in her stomach that told her that something was wrong, that his smile was more than a smile and the curse was no longer just a curse.

But a war.

X

The air was crisp and the town was calm, the town was always calm. That was the one thing about Storybrooke, as messed up as it was-There was always a breath of serenity in the air, in the wind. Perhaps it was a fake town, with fake lives and fake people but the peace was real. It wasn't overwhelming, as if everything was always okay, but it was calming in a way that allowed things to be the way they are with the constant regard that the wind will blow and the air will flow-And it's just peaceful.

_Sometimes._

This time, when the bells chimed above the door, again no one looked up to see who came through, not even the werewolf. All eyes were on the Sheriff sitting on the floor holding his wheezing toddler.

Their wheezing toddler.

_"I called 911!"_

_"What does she need?"_

_"What did she eat?"_

_"Is she breathing?"_

He was coaxing her to stay awake, not realizing the Mayor, his wife, standing behind him frozen, planted to the floor that seemed to grip her feet. Everyone was panicking, Ruby was near tears, Leroy was yelling and David was sitting in the middle of the floor rocking their daughter.

"She said no cinnamon, no dairy and no chocolate!" The angry dwarf yelled at the waitress from across the counter. Granny was in the corner, a finger plugged in her ear as she called 911 and Ruby began a mantra of _'I'm sorry'_ that the Mayor could barely register.

She was not calm, her insides had practically collapsed but she had to remain the only sane person in the room. She had to keep her cool; she had to be the wind.

Her trembling hand reached for the counter, steadying herself as she fell to her knees beside her husband, going through her purse. He didn't even notice her presence until she brushed passed him, emptying the contents of her bag. The heavy velvet fell onto the floor and he glanced at her briefly, she hadn't noticed it had fallen. Ruby leaned over the counter, wiping at her eyes to see if Charlotte was okay. Her eyes darkened immediately upon seeing it, upon seeing her cloak.

Regina fished the EpiPen from her purse, fueled by the strangled wheezing coming from her baby. Her skin was blotchy and red, breath barely escaping her. With one fluid moment, the needle was in her thigh and a gasp was heard from across the counter.

"That's mine."

She heard her, she had to have heard her. But she couldn't deal with that right now.

Regina brushed a hair out of Charlotte's face, streamed with tears and sweat and he jerked away from her. It was brief but it happened, that was something she couldn't deny. Hearing the sirens in the background, he cradled her head and allowed her to curl into him, standing so he could walk out of the diner. Without a word between them, Regina refilled her purse, picking up her belongings until all that was left was the cloak. Balled by her fists she picked that up as well, a hand on the counter as she stood.

She felt a hand on her arm as she did so, helping her up. Looking back, it was the unusually hostile dwarf, never with a kind word to say. She offered him a short smile and turned to look at the werewolf that stood before her, eyes shining with hurt and betrayal that could barely be placed.

She bundled the red warm cloth into the girl's hand, a mumbled '_I'm sorry' _being spoken between them, similar to the mantra started before by the frazzled waitress. A throb in her abdomen began again as she rushed out of the door, seeing Charlotte being loaded onto the ambulance and she lost the one friend that she had.

In a cursed world of course.

Where nothing was real anyway.

_Right?_

X

Hours later she found herself sitting in a dimly lit waiting room, relieved that Charlotte was going to be okay, she hadn't lost consciousness and everything was going to be fine. She knew that-But it didn't feel that way. It felt as though the world had collapsed on top of her and she was struggling to breathe beneath the debris. The pain in Ruby's eyes, the anger was impossible to ignore or miss. She looked at her just at David had, as if she had betrayed her, tricked her, bamboozled her. She stole their lives and she didn't expect forgiveness anytime soon.

Or ever.

Little Charlotte was sleeping in another room and she couldn't help but feel that it was her fault. That she said yes to a cookie that she didn't know would cause such an uproar. She should have been clearer, she should have said no. She could have done a million thing to prevent this but she didn't and now they were where they were. All because of a cinnamon raisin cookie.

Absently stroking the small bump that she acquired, she knew that she didn't look as far along as she was. But there was indeed a child in there, another life to nurture, another soul to love, another child for him to take away. He would surely take their daughter back, despite it not really being her fault. But she blamed herself and she was without doubt that he did as well. He barely said a word, unable to look in her eyes on the ride over.

Part of her wanted to object to his behavior openly, knowing that it is him and not her that has been having the attitude issues lately but she felt below reproach, especially after everything that had happened. Most would think that she regarded herself above it, and on the outside she did but truthfully, honestly, guilt was what wracked her day and night. Not pride and not triumph for having bedded Snow White's Prince.

Speaking of the Prince, he was watching her. There was a short corridor between the room and the waiting area, a space where he stood in speculation of her feelings. Yes he was raging, fuming that his sweet Charlie-horse had to endure what she had that day. He was angry with Ruby for feeding her a cookie that she was allergic to. He was angry with Regina for leaving their daughter with a waitress that wore 8 inch heels like tennis shoes-of course in another world they were closer but Ruby wasn't the first person they thought of when Charlotte needed to be watched.

She fell apart, below the debris, below the ashes and the stones and the bricks, she finally fell apart. The sobs the shook her were quiet, untold by the untrained ear and the untrained eye. He however was watching her and his anger loosened from his control, seemingly evaporating. Part of him wanted to remain upset with her, give him an excuse to remain with a woman that he didn't love, give him an excuse for knowingly doing something that would hurt her. But the other part of him won out.

The part of him that constricted at the sight of her tears, that felt her pain in his heart the minute it hit her. The part of him that didn't deny the unmistakable connection that they shared, that bonded them like soul ties. The part of him that succeeded sat beside her and placed a familiar hand on her shoulder. The weight, the heart behind it, the love behind it-she knew who it was. She glanced over at him, seeing a hand that still shone with his wedding ring.

"Regina."

She didn't want the weight, she didn't want his heart or the love behind it-The last time she accepted it, there seemed to be some sort of cruel joke behind it. The tears that fell were the last of them as she straightened her back, gripping the armrests to gather herself beyond her pain; physical and emotional.

The walls were her preference of sight, not him, rather to see the nicks in plaster across the way than look at him and meet his anger, judgment. Truthfully, she could barely look him in the eyes, indignant with his behavior. He had the gall to leave without even a call to see how his daughter was but something goes wrong and it's on her, while he is the superhero who shields their child from her.

Because she's the Evil Queen.

He treated her like the plaster on the wall. He couldn't see through her, he couldn't understand what she was made up of, why she stood, why she did what she did. So he looked at her, he leaned on her, he ignored her, he picked at her-like chipped plaster...on a wall. The thought brought her to a stream of anger that she didn't want to enter. She didn't want to think about the fact that he never ever missed a doctor's appointment, not until she told him. He would never go a day without seeing Charlotte, not until she told him.

She wondered if he still cared about his children in the same way. In the beginning she brushed off the notion, believing in her heart that he could never stop loving his children. But did he call? Did he try to see Charlotte since?

"Why are you here? You've seen Charlotte and she's fine. Now you can go do...Whatever the hell it is that you do."

The chill in her voice struck him and rose his defenses, defeating the part of him that let go of the anger he held. "She's my daughter Regina, I care-"

"You lost the right to care the minute you walked out of my door that morning."

"I was walking away from you, not Charlotte."

"Than why didn't you come see her? Why didn't you pick up the phone-You could have done a lot of things David because like it or not, I'm her mother and you're going to have to deal with me when it comes to her." He couldn't really compare the two of them because when he took Charlotte, she called but he didn't pick up the phone. She asked to see her and every request was shot down.

He jumped to his feet, stunned that he was being accused of not caring about his child. "It is because of YOUR carelessness that we are here." His finger pointed in her direction and she recoiled at the gesture, not accepting his blame. "It is because of YOU that Charlotte is in the hospital-Don't tell me that I don't care when I was the one that-"

"That what? Held her while she suffocated?-You didn't even have an Epi-Pen with you!" Her voice rose, straining to a rasp. "Always, ALWAYS!" Her hand struck the armrest for each vile he was supposed to have." From day one, there is one in the car, one in the office and one in your jacket-You always kept one in your jacket. I told you that it was unnecessary but you..." Her eyes welled but she ignored it, shaking her head at the dissolution of her family. "...you did it anyway."

Rather than weep in front of a man that she no longer deemed worthy of her tears, she gathered herself, deciding to go to Charlotte's room and check on her as she slept rather than argue with her father

Life had other plans, hitting her with a sharp pain that had dulled throughout the week. Before it was something she could ignore, it was going away but now it had struck her right in front of him, inescapable to his eye. "Regina?"

He reached for her but she batted his hand away as her eyes fell closed and she fell back into the chair that she tried to rise from. "This doesn't concern you." She spoke through gritted teeth, gripping at her middle protectively, trying to pass off the pain with futile attempts.

"What do you mean, it doesn't concern me?-You're practically writhing-"

"You didn't notice at City Hall, why bother now?" She raked a hand through her hair, no longer caring as she became subject to the pain that coursed through her.

He is bereft of a response, their exchange prior to the meeting being the only thing that comes mind. _Tell me-What do you suppose I do about carrying your bastard child? _Her voice rang in his thoughts._ If I thought that they were mistakes, I wouldn't have gone through with the pregnancies, now would I?_

She wasn't crazy enough to-She would never-He couldn't finished the thought, clouded by his perceptions and misconceptions as he looked at her, meeting her blood shot eyes with his, raging for an answer.

"What did you do?!"

**TBC**


	8. Fragile

_Shoutout to P-A! Typos will be fixed tomorrow :) _

_**-iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

"What did you do?!"

The effort of trying to figure out what he was talking about was tempting but she didn't take the bait, reeling her head back at the accusation. "I don't know what you're talking about." Her words were cool but not careless, conveying her annoyance but not her anger.

Her ambiguity frustrated him to know end; he was barely able to restrain himself from shaking some sense into her. How can she possibly not know what he was talking about? She said, precisely, that if she didn't want the child then she wouldn't go through with the pregnancy. And now, suddenly, in his presence and in a hospital she's nearly bent over in pain.

"I'm talking about our son Regina I-" He paused, dragging a ragged palm down his face as he lowered his voice to draw less attention. "What did you do?"

She couldn't tell if it was her heart that was hurting, pierced at the assumption that she could have any malicious intent towards her own child. She dipped her head in question, her tone low and even as she spoke. "Do you really think that I could..." The leveled voice that she kept cracked at the realization that, yes, he did believe that she was capable of doing something so heinous.

The doubt had left his eyes

"I would never-"

"Hurt him?" His anger cut her defense as he stood over her, hands propped on his hips. "Yeah, well your ten year old son, that happens to hate you, says otherwise." Unmoved by the hurt that played in her eyes, he didn't expect her to saying anything in retaliation because he knew that she was guilty. She had to be the woman that cursed him and his wife, the woman whose heart was so black that love turned away at the sight. She was the Evil Queen and she couldn't change, she wouldn't change.

He knew it.

She was silent, averting her eyes as she moved to pick up her purse in the chair beside her. She'd rather sit with pain in peace than have her feelings trampled on in a dim waiting room with nosy nurses passing by. Her attempts were thwarted, however, when she stood. "You're not going anywhere."

"Excuse me?" First he accuses her of child neglect and abuse, then he deduces her to a horrible mother and now he prevents her from leaving. The stare that her eyes reflect nearly burn a hole in his head, but she remains silent. There was no need to begin a screaming match in such a public forum over something that she knew was petty and misguided..

"I don't believe you." His finger pointed in her direction and she shook her head at his scolding as if she were a child with icing around her mouth telling him she hadn't had any cake.

"You mean you don't believe _in _me." She corrected him, knowing that this stemmed much deeper than a couple of sharp pains. "Because any man whose wife tells him-"

"You're not my wife."

The recoil was quick, and barely noticeable as she registered her features with the cool, the calm and the collected that she wanted to feel rather than the rage, the anger and the hurt that she did feel. "Fine." She enunciated, standing in front of him. "Any man who sees the mother of his children in pain doesn't turn it around on her without a second thought-Any _good _man that is."

"Oh don't you dare turn this around on me, you-" He paused, hearing footsteps behind him.

Dr. Whale came down the hallway, clicking his pen in one hand while Charlotte's chart was in the other. "Are you two okay?"

"Umm yes.." David answered, plastering on a concerned look as his hand touched her shoulder and she nearly slapped it away. "We were wondering if you could do us a favor..."

X

She knew what the issue was but she wouldn't bother trying to explain it to him. At this point, it was truly like talking to the wall; he had his own mind made up and was hearing none of what she had to say. Rather than wrangle her point, silence was a far more attractive option. But it was also an option that he was not choosing to take.

"So what do you think this is?" David questioned, standing in the corner as Regina lied back hesitantly, eyeing him each time his mouth opened with a question.

Dr. Whale flashed the Sheriff a curious smile, trying not to seem agitated by his constant questions. With three buttons undone, the Mayor lied back exposed and in pain with only her modest bump to show for it. Being the same man that delivered Charlotte, he was always careful with how he handled her; personally and medically.

"I'm sure it's the same thing Regina and I discussed last week." He placed a gentle hand to the bottom of her abdomen, releasing when she winced at the pressure. "Round ligament pain."

"You talked about it?" He scoffed, thinking that she knew how to cover her tracks. "You didn't go in for an exam?" She ignored his indignance, turning her head at his question. Whale lifted a brow, noting their frothy relationship as he placed another gloved touch to her lower stomach. "Can this type of pain be...induced?"

"Are you kidding me?" She mumbled, rolling her eyes as she recovered from the pressure Whale was placing on her sore spots.

"David, you don't remember this issue with Charlotte?" The doctor questioned, looking up at the cold Sheriff. "It wasn't this bad but it's pretty common among woman overall-it's natural."

"So she can't cause this?"

"Wha-" Whale squinted, confused by the awkward suggestion. "I'm not sure I understand what you're asking me."

"My dear husband..." Her words were more of a slap then a salute of endearment. "...would like to know if any of this affects _our _son."

"Charlotte turned out great didn't she?" Whale asked before requesting something of the Sheriff. "Hit the lights, will you?"

The room dimmed considerably and David leaned against the door, scoffing at the question. "My daughter could have died today."

If she hadn't shivered in response to the cool gel meeting her skin, she probably would have thrown something at him. "She's fine."

"No thanks to you."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No Regina, unlike you, I don't play with our children's lives."

Dr. Whale turned around, eyeing the Sheriff briefly with a bit of surprise written on his face. Quickly, he turned his attention back to the probe in his hand, but not without hearing from the talkative Sheriff.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no..." He shrugged nonchalantly, passing it off as a mere glance. "Just...nothing."

"Is something wrong?"

Whale shook his head, following an invisible pattern on her stomach with the probe cold probe. "I've just never heard you talk to her like that."

Any rebuttal that David formed fell quiet on his tongue, qualming the anger he felt into an unexpected emotion-something he didn't expect to feel: guilt. But of course, it was the mindset that he wasn't wrong, that he couldn't be wrong, that he was totally justified-That's what messed him up.

"Anyways..." Dr. Whale drawled, trying to break the awkward silence he had created. "This should be exciting for you Sheriff," his smile was as strange as the conversation, "..first time seeing your boy after finding out that it...was a boy."

David eased away from the wall, slowly stepping into the line of sight as the dark picture became clearer and the form of their child was easier to make out. "He's so small..." His tone was laced with amusement and amazement, eyes trained on his son.

"Yup...About the size of a bell pepper."

He nodded, nearing his wife with a reticence that could only be spawned by embarrassment. He had taken the first three letters of assumption and ran with it, lacking any remorse for his options because he was right and she was wrong. She was the woman that cursed him and his wife, the woman whose heart was so black that love turned away at the sight. She was the Evil Queen and she couldn't change, she wouldn't change.

He had forgotten that she was a person too.

It was the look on her face that reminded him. The shine of unshed tears in her eyes that made him see her as the woman that he had loved for five years without thinking twice about it, the woman whose capacity to love her family grew everyday. She was the mother of his children and she hadn't changed since telling him about the curse.

He had.

The galloping heartbeat that sounded throughout the room was all he heard, leading him to a sustained silence until the moment was over and the awkwardness returned. "Strong heartbeat, just the right size...I can run some tests if you still have concerns..."

"No that's okay." David's responded as Dr. Whale handed his silent wife a cloth to discard the gel on her skin.

"Here ya go...a keepsake." He handed the expectant father a small photo, a still of his son." "I'll give you two a moment."

Dr. Whale closed the door behind him and David looked up to see Regina pushing herself up from the cushioned table, stirring him to offer his hand. He did so and she declined, sitting up by herself before tucking her blouse back into her skirt. "Regina-"

"I should go check on Charlotte." She moved passed him and he made no moves to stop her, only following behind her as she left. Silence was better than arguments and apologies made of feelings they didn't want to explore and emotions they didn't want to feel.

They got to Charlotte's room and she closed the door in his face, leaving him in the hallway echoed with the footsteps of nurses and visitors. "David!" He turned around and two arms flung around him, nearly causing him to stumble.

"Henry-Wha-" He looked up to see Emma and Mary Margaret coming down the hallway at a slow jog, concern etched over their features.

"Is Charlotte okay?" Mary Margaret asked, coming to a halt in front of Charlotte's door.

"Yeah, Ruby told us what happened." Emma spoke up, walking towards the rest of them.

"Is she okay?" Henry asked, looking up to David with heightened brows just like his mother.

"When you didn't come back, I was worried." Mary Margaret blurted out, inciting stares and open mouths.

"I-I knew it!" Henry beamed, hugging David tighter. "You two are together-you made the right choice." His eyes flickered between the White Queen and her supposed Prince and Emma's mouth flapped open.

"You said you were grading this morning." Emma mumbled, getting a glaring look from Mary Margaret. "Let's...go check out the gift shop, maybe we'll get something for Charlotte." Emma reached for Henry, attempting to extract herself from the moment.

Weary to leave, the young boy eyed his teacher and the man that had played a father to him for 5 years, giving them both a toothy grin. He probably wouldn't have been smiling so much if he knew how much of a toll it was taking on both of them-That true love isn't always easy and sometimes, it's not even true love.

Emma and Henry bounded off, leaving a doe-eyed Mary Margaret and a nervous Sheriff, clutching an ultrasound photo. Realizing that it was bending under his touch, he slid it in his back pocket without a word to the woman that stood before him. She cleared her throat and he looked up, smiling sheepishly. "Oh-I'm sorry about this morning, I..um-I went to Granny's and Charlotte was-"

"No, I understand." The school teacher nodded, waiving her hand. "I just...I wanted to talk to you." His stare beckoned her to continue. "Are we..." She gestured between them, painting a blurry picture, something that he couldn't understand. "...together?"

The door between them opened to reveal an exhausted Mayor, her eyes immediately finding who she looking for, completely disregarding the shocked teacher. "She's asking for you." Her voice was low and hoarse as she spoke, looking him over and noting his odd stance-almost as if he was hiding something.

She followed his line of sight and found the teacher that she was ignoring standing there nervously, hands trembling in front of her. "Ms. Blanchard..  
"M-Mayor Mills..or Mayor Nolan, I um-Mayor Mills-Nolan." Regina eyed her carefully, knowing that the woman had never had any issue greeting her before, always a stutterer and always one to call her Mayor Mills. "Oh God..." She mumbled under her breath, averting her eyes to the floor as her foot tapped sporadically.

"Ms. Blanchard, we are in a hospital if you need medical attention."

"Regina." David scolded lightly, out of habit. Mary Margaret's cheeks flushed a violent red and Regina shrugged him off, paying it no mind.

"Turns out, I don't know where the gift shop is and well-rather than get lost..." Emma's voice trailed off seeing the three of them standing there. Close behind her was Henry, who quickly made assumptions based on what he saw. David was obviously nervous, Mary Margaret's face could be compared to a farmer's market tomato and Regina was standing in between them with her arms crossed over her chest

"Henry.." The Mayor's glare of intrigue immediately softened, the involuntary smile that tugged at her lips being a side-effect of seeing her son.

He stopped, taking a step back as if she was advancing towards him, but really she was stone still. "Did you tell her?" He disregarded his mother's greeting and went straight to David, eyes wide with excitement.

Regina was silent until she realized that he was talking about her, that she was the odd man out. But of course, she was always the odd one out. "Tell me what?" She looked to David, accusing eyes darting in his direction.  
"Tell me...what?" She was demanding to know, to be made knowledgeable of what everyone seemed to know except her.

"You're gonna lose." Out of the mouth of the son that she loved, that she had cared for-That is who it came from. His tone was nothing short of triumphant, victorious at besting the Queen.

"Kid, don't-" Emma reached and tugged at his shoulder. As much as she didn't like the woman, and as much as she wanted her parents together-The curse hadn't broken; it was still too messy.

"They're finally together." He smiled, despite Emma's protest. "Snow White and Prince Charming are gonna have their happy ending."

"Regina I'm so sorry." Mary Margaret sobbed into her palm, turning around at the sight of the woman that she had wronged.

She had let him go and he ran to her-like she thought he would. She didn't know how much it was affect her, what it would do to her until she heard the words. Out of the mouths of babes sprung the destruction of what she had hoped for, what she had placed her faith in. It was with a grain of salt that she released him, that she told him it was too late, that she sent him off to go galloping into the sunset with Snow White. She half expected him to wait until the curse had broken, to spare her the pain.

But he did no such thing.

A bile churned in her stomach and she turned her head, wishing to look at none of them. Whatever they had done, whatever they had planned to do-it made her sick, sick enough to feel as though she was a woman that had been cheated on.

In the realities of realties, he really wasn't her husband. In the grand scheme of things, she released him to be Prince Charming, to live out his happy ending. In the end, she steered his confusion towards the other woman of his affections and told him to go at it. She just failed to realize how confused _she _was, how much she really did want him until it was too late.

Just like she told him it would be.

Regina's presence before them was short lived. Coming to herself, she turned on her heels and left with slow methodical steps. Henry, oblivious to the tone of the room, turned to David with an ambivalence inappropriate for the moment. "I told you, good always wins."

And then there are times when no one wins at all.

X

He found her in a place that she would have never gone unless she truly needed space, unless there was no place else to go. There might be someone outside and in a hospital filled with nosy nurses, the halls were not drama friendly. So he found her in a supply closet, backed up against a bare wall as she gathered herself, as she prepared herself.

"I didn't want you to find out this way."

At this point, she'd rather stare at the mop in the corner-it was cleaner than he was. "You couldn't wait until the curse was broken?"

"We don't know how long that'll take and I-"

"You what-You needed to get sleep with your true love to get through the day?!" Her voice was devoid of feeling, seemingly empty.

"You told me to go back to her." He rationalized, keeping an even tone.

"And you couldn't wait?"

"I don't think I owe you that."

She nodded as her tongue pressed against her cheek and she looked away from him. "This whole town knows that we're married and that we have a child and that we-" Her voice rasped out and she shrugged, finally meeting his eyes again. "You couldn't wait?"

"You told me to go back to her."

"And you said that you didn't know if you wanted to-Apparently you did because the first place you ended up was her bed."

"We didn't do anything." She eyed him incredulously and his arms flailed beside him. "We tried but we didn't get anywhere."

She took a deep breath, eyes fixed on him as he held his shaky ground. She knew that he knew what he was doing, that he didn't feel what he was telling her but something was keeping him from telling the truth. Something broke his nerve to follow his heart.

"Do you want to know the worst part of it all?" Her eyes glossed over with tears stained by anger and hurt. "You didn't even tell me." She neared him, crossing the small floor space. "Perhaps I would have taken it better if my son wasn't the one to tell me that you were sleeping with his teacher."

"Regina I didn't know-"

"No..." She sniffled crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to hear it-I won't be embarrassed by you or your little snow flake again." Her wounds were never allowed to heal and she was tired, tired of being trampled on. Perhaps she brought things on herself but it gave no one else the right to make it worse, to make sure that she relived her pain everyday.

"If you go public with your relationship, I will end you." Their conversation had quickly turned to the days of which he was familiar with, days in which he rivaled the woman he stood before instead of caring for her, days filled with hate instead of reluctant love.

"I didn't plan on it-But if I did, it's my choice." It was purposely defiant, not allowing his power to be diminished by her threats.

She chuckled, cynically paralleled to the tears that welled in her eyes. She had to switch personas, bring out the brash and vengeful Queen so that the vulnerable broken woman she had let out could heal again. "You don't have any choices-You've made your choice and that alone has cost you everything."

"What are you-"

"You can either wait until the curse breaks to pursue your cliched romance or-" She swallowed, scraping up the last bit of bravado she needed to face him without fear of losing him; She had lost him long ago. "I will take your job, I will take your reputation, I will take your children," she spoke with a tremor, vigorous in determination. "I will destroy you..if it is the last thing I do."

She wanted to scream and she wanted to shout. She wanted to punch him in the face and watch him stumble into the shelves. She wanted him to suffer, she wanted him to feel what she was feeling, to feel the churn in her stomach and the bile in her throat. Yes, she had pulled the trigger but did that mean she didn't feel the bullet? Was she not entitled to the pain she felt?

She believed that he didn't think so, that he was willing to strip her of her right to feel angry, to feel hurt. He was treating her like she had changed and now she has. He no longer had the privilege of looking into the eyes of the wife that he had loved for five years, no, she was too hurt to be seen.

A victim of self-fulfilling prophecy, he expected no better of her, accused her of what was below her standing and stripped away the Mrs. to her name. He left her with nothing but a battered heart and a bruised ego; she was nude before him, emotionally vulnerable and bare of all coverings. She was bound to fall into what was safe, what was comfortable-even if it was what she hated the most.

She exited the space with a slam that knocked supplies from it's shelves as they shook against the wall. He was given options, once again, choosing to go public with his relationship, resulting in the untimely demise of his reputation and without knowledge of how long it would take the curse to break, it was something that could go horribly wrong. Or he could wait, adhere to her request despite the dent it would put in his manhood and fail to pursue his true love, facing the unrequited consequences later. Two options;

Hopefully, this time, he'd pick the right one.


	9. Gifted

_The encouraging words and sentiments are more than I could ask for and I thank each and every one of you that take the time to review. I realize that some of you may be getting frustrated, wondering if this is still EC, where is the fluff and all that jazz. Guys, they're hurting! Lol And things get worse before they get better and in a relationship it's hard to work your way back to someone that's accused you of something despicable or cursed you. Please hang in there, because this is EC, this is angst and we are Into the Deep. This chap was getting too long so I split it into too. The next one will be up soon and I can honestly tell you that there will be a couple little nuggets in there for those who are thirsty for some EC lovin' BUT that's next chapter. This chapter needed to establish some things and get the ball rolling on others, hope you enjoy. *P-A fist pump* Read and Review! :) typos will be corrected if any are found..._

_**-iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

Emma Swan was tired of looking at Mary Margaret's face. She loved her like family, in fact the woman was family, but the sulking had to stop. Two weeks had passed since their awkward encounter and the pixie haired woman still sat by the phone, waiting for a call that wouldn't come. At first it was sad to see her, day by day, with the same look on her face, the same broken hope in her eyes, but at this point it was beginning to be a bit much.

Emma knew better knew than most that when life throws you a hurdle and you trip over it, you dust it off and get back up. All Mary Margaret seemed to be doing was nursing her wounds with pitiful puppy dog eyes. The Sheriff eyed the school teacher wearily, debating if she should say something to snap the woman out of her funk, to brighten the solemn apartment.

"Hey, I was thinking about going to Granny's on my lunch break..." She spoke slowly as the woman sat by the phone, staring out into the window watching the clock tower while she ate her morning cereal.

"Granny always has good lunch specials.." Her tone came as monotonous and distant, with her attention being seized by the once dormant clock that now ticked to it's heart's content.

"Wanna join me?"

She never turned around, steadily shoveling soggy corn flakes into her mouth. "Join you for what?"

Emma huffed irritably, wishing the woman would snap out of it. "For lunch-Do you want to join me for lunch?" She repeated her phrasing like a mantra, hoping she would get the message.

Mary Margaret's shoulders fell with an exhale and she spooned up another helping of cereal, declining the blonde Sheriff's offer. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Mary Margaret." she was cautious, taking a seat on the bed near the window. "Don't you think it's time you..."

"Got over him?" She turned to her friend and set her bowl down, raising a brow. "We haven't seen each other in two weeks, he doesn't return my calls and he's changed the time he goes to Granny's in the morning-We, we had something and now he's just...he's gone." Their eyes met and the pixie haired teacher couldn't help the tears that shined in her eyes. "How do I get over that?"

Her hands dropped to her lap in defeat. "Not to mention that he's already married..."

Emma was silent, cursing herself for ever saying anything. She couldn't tell her that the man was actually her husband and she had every right to find him, to pursue him. She couldn't tell her that her husband had fallen for another woman and was now avoiding her to evade the task of telling her the truth.

"Do you know something?" She questioned, watching the haze over Emma's eyes come and go as the thoughts fluttered in her head.

"Uh-N-No, no I was just thinking that Henry is taking way too long to get dressed.." She offered a sheepish smile, acting as though she didn't see the suspicious look on Mary Margaret's face. They both knew she knew something but neither of them chose to explore it.

Across town the bell tolled above David's head as he stepped into Mr. Gold's shop, seeking answers to questions that he had been afraid to ask. It was rare that he was even in the man's presence being that they never had a reason to cross paths. Now that he remembered, the sinister feeling of stepping into the pawn shop was explained and Regina's strong dislike for the limping lawyer was understood.

"David Nolan, to what do I owe this _charming _pleasure?" Gold looked up with a smile that really couldn't be categorized as such. Really he was just curving the ends of his lips to bare his teeth, far more intimidating than a simple greeting.

"I need to know how to break the curse." He cut right to the point, not bothering to beat around the bush with a man known for his riddles and tricks.

"Why don't you ask your wife, it's her curse." He sniped, seemingly uninterested in the man that stood before him. He simply had nothing to offer and thus, was of no use.

"Well, you were the one who made it." He retorted, not seeing how it mattered.

"Yes, but she was the one to cast it." David shrugged and Gold waived his hand, unwilling to participate in the conversation any longer. "If you truly want to know what you seek then seek who you truly want."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He was getting frustrated, barely one to be able to finish a crossword puzzle let alone and analogous prophecy.

"Glean from it what you must." Gold shooed him away, dismissive in his tone as he turned to walk away without really giving the man anything to go on. Agitated, David sighed and left without giving any real though to the Dark One's words.

Perhaps if he did, the next couple of days would run a tad smoother.

X

Two weeks had passed since she closed herself off to him, since she fell back into the abyss of familiarity and dislike. It was easier to protect herself when he didn't know she cared, when she was cold, when she was calculated. It seemed to have worked because he wasn't seeing the nymphish schoolteacher anymore and they had yet to get into an argument. Their interactions were limited to the _Hellos _and _Goodbyes _that were customary when seeing a stranger rather than someone to have lied next to for years on end.

She couldn't say that she was content with it but it surely was less stressful than beginning a new fight each week, hurling threats at each other. So for the time being, the ignored pang in her heart each morning when he picked up Charlotte was worth it; the lingered silence they shared with awkward glances were worth the exchange. At least they weren't hurting each other anymore.

Not intentionally.

The day was winding to a close and it was around the time that she'd usually make dinner. As of late, she strayed from intricate meals and stuck to the simple lasagnas that were easy to prepare and quicker than those that required her to stand on her feet for much longer. At this point David would be the one cooking dinner, insisting that she nap everyday. No, no she wouldn't think about him.

She was done. He had pushed her too far and she had showed him the side that he had been accusing her of having, of relishing in. He pushed her into the purpose that he wanted her to fulfill and now that she had done it, she doubted that there was anything to salvage between them. As betrayed as he felt, she had the same sear in her heart. She should have expected him to go back to the bland teacher but she let her guard down and was struck by the arrow of surprise, right in the heart.

Before the Mayor could cross the kitchen threshold, the doorbell rang and brought her back to the foyer. She opened the door to find streaks of red that she had been avoiding, streaks of red that kept her from going to Granny's for weeks. The werewolf held up a white paper bag, proposing a trade. "Chicken walnut salad with fetta cheese and pomegranate vinegarette."

She knew the Mayor's weakness and withdrew the bag when she reached for it. "Nu uh-You have some explaining to do."

Regina knew exactly what she was talking about. She had dropped a bomb on the girl, a whole nother life that she had no recollection of until she saw the thick velvet that held her morphing into a beast of the night. But the former Queen was stubborn, shaking her head at the girl's assertion. "I don't have to explain anything."

Ruby scoffed, holding the bag in the air. "Regina, I may not like you right now but I have grown to know you and I'd say, telling by the time, you're about to go put your pre-made lasagna in the oven...But what you really want is a chicken walnut salad with fetta cheese and pomegranate vinegarette." Regina narrowed her eyes and Ruby leaned in, her voice coming as a light whisper. "Granny even put extra chicken strips in there."

Regina huffed, standing back so that the werewolf could walk into the house. "I don't like you either." Ruby crossed the threshold and walked right passed the Mayor, advancing towards the kitchen as if it were her own house. "Miss Lucas-"

"Regina you cursed me and my friends, stole my best friend's husband and disillusionized me into becoming your friend-I think you can call me Ruby." the young girl dropped the bag on the counter and Regina failed to respond, trailing behind her. "Where are the plates?"

"What do you think you're doing?" The astute Mayor questioned, watching as the short-shorts clad waitress wandered around her cupboards without a care.

"Ahh.." She found the dishware that she sought and pulled out two white plates before setting them on the counter. "We're going to have an honest conversation.." She set Regina's salad in front of her on the other side of the counter. "You don't get to bullshit me-No Evil Queen, none of that." She pulled out a small styrofoam container. "Where's Charlotte? I brought her a burger."

"She's upstairs playing."

"Speaking of that." The werewolf met the Queen's eyes, genuine regret replacing the determination that resided seconds ago. "I'm sorry about Charlotte. I forgot that Granny's recipe called for cinnamon and I was careless." Regina nodded, accepting her apology. "But of course, you would have heard that weeks ago if you weren't avoiding me...and David."

"I haven't been avoiding anybody. I haven't been well and the less I do, the better." It was true, her last pregnancy was smooth sailing but this go round it seemed like everything was a task. Her hand reach for the girl's forearm that rested on the counter, an unintentional attempt a at connection. "I wasn't avoiding you." She didn't want to talk about David, nor did she want to talk about the woman that she despised for reasons decades of age.

Ruby only offered a small smile in response to her friend the Mayor, who befriended her all these years with the knowledge that in another life they had hated one another, they were enemies. However, twenty-eight years later in a new realm, in a new life, things were different. "I'm guessing that you didn't want me to find out the way that I had." The Mayor's response was the opening of her water bottle that sat on the counter beside her, a tell of her stress. "But why Regina? Why lift the curse off of me now?"

"I couldn't let you think that David was the only bad guy. I knew that you two were once good friends. It-it wouldn't be fair to you." Her salad remained untouched but the bottle of water is near half empty.

Looking away from Regina, the werewolf changed the subject. "You know all of my 'senses' are back. It's intoxicating almost, experiencing everything on a heightened level-I'm still adjusting though." Regina sat in silence hearing out her friend; guilt overcoming her. Ruby continues, "The worst part of 'waking up' are the memories." Her eyes met those of the sorceress that brought them all there, to this strange new land. "Oddly I'm thankful for your curse. There were things-people-I wanted to forget."

"I didn't know." Her tone is circumstantial, fit to be taken any way the wind blows because truly, she didn't know what to say. Perhaps it was because the person she was supposed to say it to didn't know how to feel. Happy to remember or grateful to forget?

"Ruby I'm sorry. You have every right to be mad at me. I'm mad at me." Had it been anyone else, she would have challenged herself to keep her eyes dry but this girl needed to know, she needed to see that the former Queen was human, that she was genuine. "Look at me...In this big house, my family torn in two..." She looked down momentarily, willing away the sadness that pounded in her chest, bringing her tears to the brim of her eyes. "I just want you to know that our friendship was never in my grand scheme of things." She met her eyes once more, hopeful that the werewolf had enough faith in her. "Please believe that."

"So you weren't using me to get back at Snow?"

"No." She shook her head before taking another sip of the water that calmed her. It was more of a panacea of sorts than something just to quench her thirst, making it easier to get through the conversation honestly without having to reach for her defenses any time it got rough. "You were my husband's friend here...You were my friend."

"Were you using David, _your husband_?" The Mayor's mouth was left open, a mind devoid of thoughts and a heart brimming with emotions. Rarely was she struck speechless but the question was not one that she had expected nor was it one she was ready to answer

Seeing the former Queen's struggle, the wolf didn't have to hear the woman speak to get the answer she sought. "You don't have to say anything to me. That's between you and David...And Mary Margaret." The Mayor visibly stiffened at the mention and Ruby took the opportunity to get her final thought out of the way.

"Speaking of such...I think I should let you know that when this is all over and the curse is broken, Snow she-"

"I get it." She nodded, looking away at the counter. "She's your friend."

Getting up to leave, she crumbled the paper bag in her hand. "By the way, if you don't see me at Granny's, I'm at the Sheriff's Station."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm trying something new." Ruby smiled, seemingly happy to share the news with a woman that she once considered her friend but now wasn't sure what could be said about their relationship. "You should eat...Kiss Charlotte for me." She touched her shoulder in an effort of comfort that only served to remind the Mayor of another relationship she had spoiled.

The Mayor offered a tight smile that she couldn't keep up when the werewolf turned her back. After losing so much, she didn't really have much of an appetite.

X

It was a new day. A new day to live, a new day to breathe, a new day to admonish the sunshine and dance in the rain. The sunset seemed to mean so much more to everybody, except her. A new day meant seeing his face again, waking up alone to a bed lacking a welcoming warmth, a child wondering why her parents are no longer in the same bed and a sun that seemed to mock her with it's rays. It seemed to shine on everything but her.

She scoffed at her thoughts, knowing that hostility towards the sun might be a bit far but nevertheless, it was how she felt. But alas, she persevered with the same schedule each day, waking up too early, getting ready, wandering around barefoot with a cup of decaf coffee she wished to magically make caffeinated, getting Charlotte ready, making breakfast, sending her daughter off with David.

However, that particular day, the schedule was broken. That night she didn't sleep and for the first time in along time, she overslept. Now her barefoot decaf moment was merged with getting Charlotte ready before rushing to make breakfast. The doorbell rang and she rolled her eyes, going to the door with a mug in one hand and a black bow in the other as Charlotte sat down at the table sleepily, wishing to be beneath her butterfly sheets.

When she opened the door, he gave her the usual tight-lipped smile that he'd been giving her since she threatened to take their children away, take his job away, leaving him with nothing but a hotel key and charm that was beginning to wear out. Ever since that day at the hospital, their relationship seemed to be put on pause, filled with tight-lipped smiles and cold stares.

It was beginning to annoy her.

"You're early." She deadpanned, looking at him as if he had caused her the biggest inconvenience.

"I thought I'd take Charlie to get something to eat." He responded, his standoffish attitude matching hers.

"So I could have stayed off of my swollen feet and not rushed to make breakfast? I didn't have to waste my time and endure the ache-is that what you're telling me? That I could have avoided all of that if you had called me?"

He was unresponsive, too absorbed with taking in her appearance. He tolerated the attitude, accepting that he'd pushed her too far. Perhaps it took him longer to realize it than most, but he finally grasped it. When she became what he was accusing her of, he finally realized it.

He thought better of commenting on how she had grown, how her stomach had finally popped and she was showing beyond camouflage. A smile managed to tug at his lips with the memories of her bump pressing into his back as she slept, using him as a pillow. But things were different now, they weren't that close anymore and the only consolation was a fuzzy picture of their son and the cold look in her eyes.

He opted for the easiest way out with his choice and he didn't feel any better for it. That's why he hadn't reached out to Mary Margaret, he didn't want to break her heart because any lies that he wanted to tell her would spill into the truth and she'd find that he loved the woman he stood before, not her.

When she threatened him, when he saw the darkness rise in her eyes it was not gratifying. To most it would have been, to be proved right, to know that she hadn't changed. The only difference was that he knew her and it wasn't that she hadn't changed, it's just that no one noticed and they pushed her until she regressed. Well really, it was him that didn't notice.

He pushed her.

"Can I come in?" She rolled her eyes and left the door, giving him no sort of inclination but he assumed that he was welcome. She padded across the foyer to where Charlotte sat, inhaling deeply into her mug as she took a hearty sip. "I hope that's decaf." He chimed.

"I hope you be quiet." She sniped, having none of his input. He had lost his privilege with her the moment his warped perception of her morphed from witch to abuser.

"Regina I was just trying to make small talk."

Her eyes flickered up in annoyance, maintaining a monotonous tone as she clutched her mug. "Well I don't want to talk to you. Who knows how else you'll manipulate my words and use it against me."

He couldn't tell if she was still that angry or it was a hormonal day because she wasn't this bad yesterday. But of course, she didn't say anything to him yesterday, only kissing Charlotte goodbye and handing him her rose colored knapsack.

"Regina look, I'm sorr-"

"Charlotte dear, are you done?" She cut him off immediately, reveling in her bit of success when his mouth clamped shut.

Charlotte lifted her head that rested on her tiny balled fist, twisting her fork in the last bit of egg on her plate. "Sleepy mommy." She mumbled lazily before putting her head down on the table. Her hair was parted to the side with the wave of her hair line braided in a nice goddess braid, presumably to be ended by the bow Regina had in her free hand.

"Why's that Charlie horse?" David questioned, stepping into the dining room.

Her usual excitement was replaced with a dragging voice and closed eyes.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Why?" He probed.

"Why aren't you in bed with mommy when I wake up?" She asked, seeming to challenge his question. She was only 3, nearing four, and was already outsmarting him.

"Come." Regina sat down on the other side of the table. "Let mommy put the bow in your hair."

David sighed, grateful for the distraction. The doorbell rang for the second time that morning and before Regina could make a move to get up, the Sheriff was already advancing towards the door as if he still lived there; as if they still coexisted.

"Emma?" David questioned, bringing his voice down a couple octaves upon seeing his daughter.

"David!" She hit his shoulder and he winced, stumbling back as she called out his name. "God, would it kill you to pick up your phone every once in a while?!" Her eyes told the story of her panic as she stood in front of him, fuming.

"What's the matter?" He questioned, rubbing the sore spot on his arm, giving her a sideways look.

"David, who's at the door?" He heard her coming in the distance, having slid into her heels so that they announced her presence far before she did. Her hand pushed out in front of him, breaking the block that he had created in the doorway.

"Ms. Swan." She greeted, her voice thick with content as she eyed the woman on her porch.

Emma reached behind her and pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs, an action that David immediately responded to. He stood in front of Regina, curving his arm behind him to move her back into the house. It was instinctual, his actions, actions that confused both women. "Emma, what do you need handcuffs for?"

"I need to take her in.." David's hands propped on his hips and she rolled her eyes, slapping a free hand at her side. "I called you!"

"What the hell is going on?" David stepped back so that the two of them stood in the doorway and Regina crossed her arms over her chest, occasionally looking back behind her to make sure that Charlotte didn't stray in their direction.

"Mary Margaret's missing." The shock registered in David's features, frozen by the revelation. Emma's eyes flickered over to the Mayor accusingly and Regina recoiled at the suggestion.

"I don't see how Ms. Blanchard's unfortunate situation has anything to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you, because you're the reason she's gone!"

Silence fell between them as the accusation settled from ear to ear and mind to mind. The Mayor's tell began to show as her fingers moved to play with the pendant that played around her neck. Emma neared her with the silver cuffs and David threw his hand out, stopping the process. "No cuffs..." He eyed Emma and gestured for her to follow as he lead Regina down the path, a hand pressing on the small of her back.

"Regina, whatever you did you need to tell me right now." He mumbled, knowing that she was keen to hearing him.

"Contrary to popular belief in this town, the saying is innocent until proven guilty not the other way around...I didn't do anything to your little teacher." She scowled, taking offense to his assumptions that she was once again in the wrong.

"I had to ask."

"Actually, you didn't." She turned away from him, fluttering her fingers in his directions. "Take Charlotte to daycare...I'll cooperate but I didn't do anything." He nodded and reluctantly turned to where Emma stood. He took the slivers circles in her hands and stuffed them in his pocket as he went to retrieve Charlotte. "No cuffs."

**TBC**


	10. Guilded

_Here it is, nice and quick :) Big thanks to parrilla-adkins, guys seriously, this chick can write and I am so advertising her page right now, go follow her, go read her fics. She's nabilanordin11 and I couldn't have done it without her! Enjoy this chapter, it's heavy and feels packed and it's my fave chapter yet :) Enjoy!_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

After dropping off Charlotte at daycare, bargaining with a sleepy little girl to ensure her attendance, the Sheriff high-tailed it to the office. Despite his mulled anger towards the woman that bared his last name, his worry remained the same. He was worried about both of them, frustrated with the disappearance of his lost love and hopeful that the cause of it didn't fall with Regina.

After weeks of finding fault with her and paying the price, the Sheriff of knee-jerk reactions was finally looking at things as a whole rather than the blurry puzzle pieces that were leading to his downfall. The darkened stares and hostile conversations had humbled him into knowing that he was wrong about some things, this his actions weren't always justified. But it hadn't humbled him enough to admit it.

Truthfully, he was still weary of her because she refused to answer his questions, to settle his inquiries about the depths of their relationship. He had trouble forgiving her without knowing when their life together stopped being a chess game in which he was just a pawn, a means to an end. He would humble himself when she humbled herself enough to tell him the truth.

Seeing the twin cruiser parked in front of the Sheriff's office, he figured they'd gotten there no longer before him and would probably be in an interview room. Hopefully, Mary Margaret was simply taking time to herself rather than the grim latter of purposely being missing, kidnapped by a crooked foe. Peering into the rooms that he passed, each one was dark with no light but that which was offered when cracking the doors open. Entering the main room however, he found a different story.

"Emma, what the hell?" He couldn't help the words the spilled from his mouth when he saw the dark haired Mayor standing behind bars, her arms crossed over her chest as she eyed them both with a stare that could burn holes through their heads.

The fellow Sheriff shrugged, never looking up from the paperwork she held in her hands. "I was pregnant and in jail, she'll be fine."

"Where are the keys?" He moved to enter the glass office that he was given, presumably because of his seniority. Emma quickly stood in front of the door, dangling his key from her finger. "Emma..."

"What if she kidnapped Mary Margaret? What if she..."

He shook his head, not even wanting that thought in his mind. "Regina didn't-We don't know anything and we shouldn't be jumping to any conclusions."

"We're not jumping, we're walking." She retorted, eliciting an eye roll from the man she still had trouble knowing as her father. "Granny said that the last time she saw Mary Margaret was around 5, after that no one's seen her. I have an eye witness that' puts Regina in the same area around the same time. If Henry's book isn't a complete load of crap then we both know that Regina's had it out for her for decades. And on top of all that, you were playing ping-ping ball between the both of them because you couldn't make up your damn mind...Now one of them is missing." She lifted her hand, counting off her reasons. "Opportunity, motive, intent."

"I come baring food!" Ruby announced, walking into the tense Sheriff's office, immediately taking note of the black suit and heels that stood in the cell. "What's going on?"

Emma looked away, not wanting to tell the curious werewolf. "Hey, if I'm gonna be a deputy than you need to fill me in-I'm not just your food girl." She dropped the bag of food on the desk, and stuck her hand to her hip, awaiting an answer.

"Miss Swan seems to believe that I've done away with Mary Margaret." Ruby met her eyes, darkened beyond compare. "But I can assure you, I can assure all of you that I've done no such thing."

"Save it Madam Mayor." Emma scowled, casting a grimace in her direction.

"Emma-" his eyes fanned between his daughter and his wife. "She's the Mayor-"

"I've already spoken to a senior council member-Mrs. Truman, she's taking care of it."

"You put that cow in charge of my town?" The trio whipped their head around to face the fuming Mayor.

"Technically, in your condition-"

"Emma." He stopped her, knowing that the conversation was bound to get ugly.

"We could just avoid this if you told us where Mary Margaret is." She neared the cell, meeting the Mayor eye for eye and step for step as Regina approached the bars that separated them.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear the first time," she was seething, "...last night, I was home with Charlotte-"

"Can she vouch for that?"

"Are you kidd-" Regina's eyes widened as her hands flailed by her sides in utter disbelief. "Are you kidding me?! She's three years old-are you daft or just plain incompetent?!"

Before Emma could retort, Ruby made an all call for breakfast. "Guys, let's just cool down...We can't find Mary Margaret if we don't concentrate and both of you guys are barely coherent without eating so..." She set a white contained down on the desk. "Apple pancakes for you." David sighed, taking the plate form the desk as Ruby pulled out another container. "Eggs and bacon for Ruby..." Emma rolled her eyes at the wolf speaking in third person. "...and oatmeal for you."

Emma set her keys down on the desk and took a seat next to Ruby, popping the top off of her breakfast so that the smell wafted into the air. She didn't know why, but she was a fan of oatmeal-especially when it had little raisins in it, nestled between the sugar pockets.

David turned around, pulling up a chair to enjoy the pancakes that Regina had turned him onto. However, the minute he did, he caught a glimpse of the paling Mayor, turning away from the bars as she gripped them for support. She looked up, hoping that it would pass but the nausea quelled in her stomach and their eyes met. He may not have liked her but he knew her, and the look on her face had him rising from his seat.

He swiped the keys from the desk and Emma looked up with big eyes, still chewing. "Hey!" Nearly tripping over himself, he rushed to unlock the cell that bound her. He swung back the metal bars and she covered her mouth, feeling a waft come passed her nose. "What are you doing, David-we talked about this!" As gracefully as she could, the Mayor bolted to the nearest restroom and David was right behind her, only stopping to trash the plate that Emma had just dug into. "Really?!"

He steered her in the direction of the Sheriff's restroom rather than the one for inmates, eliciting an eye roll from Emma as she folded her arms in disappointment. The muffled heaves coming from the Mayor had Ruby pulling at Emma to stand, knowing that Regina probably wouldn't want to look at them afterwards. "What?" Emma stood and Ruby pulled her towards the door, grimacing at the tortuous sound that hid behind the run of the faucet. "Let's go get you something else."

David threw a grateful look over his shoulder, thanking Ruby silently as she dragged his daughter out of the Sheriff's office. Running water was all that could be heard save for the sounds emitting relentlessly that would have any man turning the other way. David fought it just as he had before and ran towards the sound, towards the wife that he had denied to be his wife. Perhaps that is what his mind thought in the moment but his actions seemed to say otherwise.

Her torso curved into the sink without any cognition from herself, leaving the heaving Mayor holding the ceramic bowl until her knuckles paled a ghastly white. "Regina," came his breathless response at the sight of her. Her head inclined in the opposite direction being as she couldn't look at him, she wouldn't look at him, hoping that the queasy churn in her stomach would dissipate soon.

He needn't be there; his job began and ended with unlocking the cell, after that she didn't need him. But before she could protest against his presence or do anything to stop his actions, he was already beside her with a hand rubbing soothing circles on her back and another tucking a curtain of hair behind her ear.

Another wave of nausea hit her and the smell still lingered in her nostrils. "It's okay, it'll pass." Having had nothing but her decaf coffee, there was not much for her to expel, making the experience all the more painful. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes from the pressure in her chest, a flame seeming to ignite in her heart. A fleeting thought had her wondering of it's assimilation to having her heart ripped out of her chest.

A few moments later, it stopped, leaving her with a light sweat that she tried to wave off and weak knees that threatened to fail her. Feeling her body beginning to sag beneath his touch, his hands fell to her waist as he moved from beside her to behind her. Her head leaned into his shoulder as she offered only a whisper for her thoughts, still feeling a tightness in her throat. "Thank you."

It was the mirror that they stood in that caught her, that caught them. She could not offer him anything but the words she spoke because any gesture seemed too painful to express. There they were, a reflection of themselves, a reflection that told a story that wasn't true. He was there, right behind her, right there to catch her and she was grateful to lean into him, to be supported by him.

But that wasn't the case.

He wasn't there, he had walked away from her and she had fallen too many times without him there to catch her. She was only grateful for the will to get back up because she no longer trusted him enough to lean on him, to be supported by him. It was a reflection that lied, that told a story that wasn't true but it was tempting to accept, if only for a moment, as the truth.

"You wouldn't happen to..." The rasp of her voice did something to him. It was torturous almost, to hear such a weakness emit from her, to have evidence of her lack for strength. Before she could finish, his arm wrapped around the front of her body to keep her steady as the other reached for a bottle of mouthwash in the cabinet beside them.

She recoiled at the smell of it, still falling prey to the ghost of nausea that laid in the pit of her stomach. Despite such difficulties, she soldiered through the task quickly and handed back the bottle before it could debilitate her anymore. "Do you want some air or-" She shook her head and he nodded, allowing her to gather herself accordingly. He loosened his grip on her body and she faltered slightly, immediately missing the contact that he provided.

She held onto the sink for support when he left her side, when he told the truth of their reflection and left her alone. She nearly cursed him for making her fall right back into his embrace, for making it so easy. She wished that she was stronger, that moments like this were non-existent but she knew that if they truly were, she wouldn't survive that either. Even if they hated each other, the hairs on their necks still stood when they touched, the world still stopped when they embraced and there was still a spark when they looked in each other's eyes, even if there was a cold stare hiding it.

With a deep breath, she stepped aside, holding to the wall and the knob of the door as she opened it. Slow methodic steps kept her upright when her knees wanted to give out. She had barely slept the night before and it seemed that any energy she had gained from such a short slumber had been taken from her the moment she dispelled the small contents of her stomach. Her eyes fell closed and she stopped, bracing against the wall outside of the restroom.

"Hey, hey what are you doing?" His voice was heard as he pushed open the monogrammed glass doors of the Sheriff's office. "I took out the garbage so you wouldn't smell it-You should have waited for me, I was coming right back." His voice wasn't that of scolding, it was much gentler with only worry and concern as his intent.

She never moved, only turning her head to look at him with glistening eyes. He had left her so many times that she didn't have faith that he would come back to her, no matter the situation. He had stripped her of the hope to know that even with a short absence, he would be back to support her, to hold her up. She no longer knew that he would love her in spite of himself, love her in spite of what she's done. Her glistening eyes were more of a statement then any words could say or make.

_You took something from me._

He couldn't apologize for what he had done, nor could he apologize for what he had said. Words meant nothing now, his realization that it was him that was in the wrong did nothing to console her. He offered her his hand and she looked at his wearily, meeting him stare for stare, assurance for doubt. "I used some of that stuff Ruby has in her desk so-I um, I don't...You won't smell it on me." That was good to know but it wasn't what she needed to hear, she didn't want to hear anything. She had wanted her husband back for so long and now that she had him, if only for a moment, it was done mockingly so because she wasn't sure it would last. Nothing good ever did.

She made the effort to lift herself off of the wall and go in the opposite direction of him, to do it by herself. She was tired and she was weak but she could make it, and she was making it until she reached Ruby's desk and the faint smell wafted near her like it had found and targeted her. She turned her head and paused, clasping a hand over her mouth. She hadn't been sick in weeks but all it took was a hint of those gooey oats to send her over the edge.

He was right behind her, holding to her waist to make sure she stood upright. It frustrated her, that she needed him now. He wasn't there before, he wasn't there when she wanted to need him, when she needed to need him. Now that he stood for her, showed that he cared for her, it was like an insult to her emotions. One minute he's there, the next minute he's gone, the next he's there, seconds later-gone.

She was faltering and didn't even know it until she stumbled back into him. His hold on her was so intimate, so loving, it confused the hell out of her. Which one was the show? The hate he showed or the love he was showing?

"Just breathe," he coached softly into her ear as her head turned to avoid looking in the direction from which her sickness stemmed. He laced his fingers with hers and brought them beneath her chest so his arm wrapped around her securely. "I've got you, you're not going to fall, you're not going to get sick just..just ground yourself in the moment."

Truly, she couldn't do what he was asking. He was asking her to become comfortable with her body being pressed against his, their heads falling next to each other. He was asking her to become comfortable with a gentle voice whispering in her ear, keeping her present. He was asking her to fall comfortable with feeling safe, feeling his arms wrapped around her so that no one, no one could ever bring harm to her.

Across town, Emma and Ruby sat at the counter in Granny's waiting for Emma's breakfast, hunger stirring in their stomachs. Ruby occasionally eyed her grandmother, receiving disapproving looks from Granny as she seemed to serve everyone but her.

"What's going on with you and Granny?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, propping her head on her hand. "I told you! She's trying to-"

"Trying to what?" Granny questioned, setting a paper bag in front of the blonde Sheriff. "No smack talk at my counter girl.." Ruby mouth opened in disbelief and Granny raised her hand, having no one of it. "Go on...Deputy Lucas_._" Even Emma giggled at how funny it seemed, earning a glare from the werewolf.

"Let's go Emma." Ruby moved from the counter roughly, a chuckling Sheriff behind her. "It's not funny!" She chastised, walking out of the diner.

"You're right, you're right," she placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "...but it kind of is."

Ruby shrugged her off and opened the passenger door of the cruiser. "Can we change the subject please?"

"Sure." Emma responded, getting into the driver's side before putting her breakfast on the back seat. "Regina."

"When did Mary Margaret go missing? And how do you know she's missing?"

"Well you can't leave town and there's only so many places to go in Storybrooke...You see her car behind us?" Ruby nodded. "It's been there since 5 o'clock yesterday...which was around the last time she was seen."

"And you think Regina abducted her?"

"I know she had something to do with it."

"Well I was at Regina's house yesterday around 5 and no one was there but her and Charlotte."

"Did you see Charlotte?"

"No, but where else would she be? David didn't have her."

Emma shrugged and Ruby sighed. "Who else would have it out for a teacher who doesn't bother anybody?"

"Maybe her husband that's having trouble choosing between his two wives." Emma lifted a brow. "I love them both and when I get my hands on whoever has my best friend, if she was kidnapped, it's not going to be pretty-But I don't think that person is Regina."

"How can you say that?"

"Well she didn't seem to be on a murderous rampage yesterday...She just seemed, I don't know.." she met the blonde's eyes, "..sad."

"Ruby-"

"And as angry as I am with Regina for doing what she did to Snow, that will be dealt with when the curse is broken-In the meantime, I'll have a chat with David but to pin Mary Margaret's disappearance on Regina just doesn't feel right. Especially if she didn't do anything and we're following the wrong lead while Mary Margaret could be anywhere." Emma rolled her eyes, pulling away from her parking space. "Just speaking the truth Sheriff Swan..."

"Shut up Deputy Lucas." Emma retorted, still thinking about what was said.

"Have you investigated anywhere?"

"I was going to get a warrant to search Regina's place while she was at the station..."

"What about the old Toll Bridge?"

"What _about _the old Toll Bridge?"

"Maybe she's camping out there or someone who kidnapped her could have left clues because Snow only had enemies in our land. Maybe someone got woken up and they have something against Snow."

"Like who?"

"I don't know...King George?"

"Who the hell is King George?"

"Albert Spencer.."

Emma nodded, figuring that she'd get the full story later. "How about I drop you off at the Toll Bridge and I'll go back to the Station."

"You don't want to come?"

"Nah, I'd rather check on David and Regina."

Ruby looked over at Emma who gave her a bewildered look, shaking her head. "You don't think they'd..."

"No they wouldn't..." She looked to her deputy for confirmation. "They wouldn't right?"

X

They sat side by side on the springy bunk bed of the jail cell with neither of them having enough courage to speak. It seemed as though all their words beforehand had been hostile, full of pain, full of resentment and now sitting shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh there were no sweet nothings to whisper in each other's ear. A trembling hand balanced a styrofoam cup on her knee as she kept her eyes closed, fighting the nausea that wanted to overtake her and the familiarity of being with her husband. The husband that supported her, that wouldn't let her fall mere minutes before, the husband that was sensitive to her needs, the husband that she could no longer call her own.

The breath that left her was shaky.

How could she still care for someone who treated her as he did, who made her feel disposable? She had fallen in love with David, caring, sweet, protective David and woke him up to find the dark side that she never knew, that everyone has. He lashed out at the Evil Queen, adversary of his true love Snow White as Prince Charming. And it took her threats, her anger, her pain to reach it's max before he realized that she was human, that the woman he lashed out at wasn't the woman who cursed him but the woman who woke him up because she loved him too much to deceive him any longer.

Gently touching her arm, he took the cup from her grasp and their fingers brushed against each other's, eliciting the spark they knew they had but tried at best to ignore it. Her eyes finally opened to look at him, to see the man that stood by her side. He noticed the wear of her disposition, how tired she was despite the glow about her. She hadn't been sleeping, he could tell but she was still beautiful. The irony passed his mind; he wanted her now, he missed her but he had said too much.

It was too late.

He didn't want to frighten her, scare her back behind the facade she so tactfully guarded. But he couldn't let the moment pass without saying something, he had to let her know what was on his mind, what was invading his thoughts. Fishing out the small photo from his wallet, "I think he's got my build, don't you think? Strong and sturdy...dashingly handsome too," he turned to face her as he continued. "But I think he'll have his mom's button nose," a tear slipped down the curve of her nose, "her beautiful smile," down her lips, "and maybe..just maybe, when he laughs he'll wrinkle his nose too."

His desire to be forgiven reflected her denial to do so, blue to brown, tear for tear. The water had done no good to her throat, leaving her hoarse not to mention the emotion she tried to swallow. "David this isn't the time," she was still hurting, "..don't make this any harder."

"I'm not, Regina." Deep down, he was aware of the wounds that were yet to heal but he couldn't help himself. He took her hand once more, reveling in the feel of her palm against his, line against line and mark against mark. "He is every bit of you, that he is of me." He pressed a kiss to the hand that he held and she let him, but her head turned away at the gesture. The tears that fell meant more than that moment. It was more than their fighting-He had helped a broken woman become whole again only to break her once more.

And now, his efforts to put her back together again failed to work.

It was like putting a band-aid on a dam; the water was bound to break through. She couldn't accept his consolation, his silent apologies, his comfort. It was too little too late, a moment that should have come sooner rather than later. With a light squeeze, she let his hand go, she let him go.

He was able to discern the moment and tell that he could say nothing more, only time could heal wounds, not words that were pass due. "You should rest."

"Only the guilty sleep in prison." Her response was met with the distasteful glare she gave to the pillow beside her. Regina Mills did not do jailhouse slumber.

With a sigh, he stood and placed the photo back in his wallet. "Take your blazer off." She gave him a look of inquiry and he bent at the knee, leaning over to help her as she arched her back in the process of discarding the soft material. She handed it to him and he folded it to avoid creases before placing it atop her pillow. "If nothing else, you need to rest," before she could protest, he was taking off her pumps, "..and if you lie down, maybe it'll settle your stomach." His hand passed over her bump nonchalantly, not even realizing what he had done until he saw her eyes widen by the smallest fraction.

She didn't say anything though, letting it pass this once, for it was a day of missed nostalgia. Upon realizing that he was watching her, she propped her arm on the bed and lifted her legs before settling down on her makeshift pillow. "I'm just going to close my eyes." She whispered tiredly, with no intention of sleeping.

He nodded and turn to leave the cell when her eyes finally did fall close. "Stay.." He was a small whisper but he heard it and complied with her request, crouching against the bars opposite the bed. It didn't take long for her to break her word and the heavy breathing to set in. The air condition began to blow full force and he cursed it's on again/off again nature. She shifted slightly and he rose to his feet, making light steps to his desk before returning with his leather jacket to drape over her small frame.

Emma couldn't have been clearer, stating that there should be no preferential treatment for anybody taken into custody. But she knew that it had all went to hell when she walked in on the David walking towards his desk, Regina's cell wide open as she slept under his jacket. "David what the hell, why-"

"Shhh!" He stood immediately. "Not here, in my office." Tugging her by the elbow, he ushered the blonde into the glass office before shutting the door behind him. "She's sleeping."

"So?!"

"So? So lower your voice." He peered out passed the glass to see her still in the same spot, seemingly undisturbed.

"She's a suspect David! I don't care who she is to you right now, but she's a suspect in a freaking kidnapping. Kidnapping Mary Margaret, for God's sake-Your REAL wife! What the hell has gotten into you?"

"You think I've forgotten that Mary Margaret is missing?"

"Well ya sure act like it, David. We don't know where Mary Margaret is, if she's hurt, if she's alive-"

"No Regina wouldn't kill her," his voice wavering the tiniest fraction with the sliver of doubt in his mind. "No Emma, she," he pointed to his sleeping pregnant wife, "...she wouldn't do that."

"Oh Really? Henry's book seems to say that she would..In a heartbeat."

"I thought you were better than this!"

"NO! I thought you could handle the situation, this mess! Now look what you've done: your pregnant wife is behind bars and your true love has disappeared." And that easily, she was no longer just talking about him and Regina.

David's hand slammed against the table. "That's enough!"

The noise awoke Regina with a start, surpassing the glass confines. The two blonde Sheriffs eyed each other furiously, breaths heavy and chests heaving. Breaking the silence was Emma's phone that rang in her pocket. Without taking her eyes off of David, she reached into her pocket and plucked out her phone, mashing a button before picking up. "Ruby, did you find anything?" She pulled the phone from her ear to avoid the screeching. "Rub-Ruby calm down.." The girl's wails subsided and David neared the phone as well to hear the commotion. "Ruby, did you find anything?"

Emma looked up upon the response, meeting his eyes as her mouth froze to an_ 'o'_. "She wouldn't do it?!" Emma exclaimed, pointing to Regina's jail cell.

"What-what are you talking about? What did she find?" He watched as his daughter swallowed, struggling to answer as her eyes welled up.

"A heart."

**TBC**


	11. Hell

_Writer's block is HORRIBLE! Jeez, there should be a shot to prevent that thing lol I'm so sorry for the wait but I just couldn't put pen to paper. I got this up as soon as I could between the WB and all my other responsibilities so please don't crucify me! *Fixing typos later, if there are any to be found* And it's another long chapter so yay, hopefully it makes up for the wait :) Big thanks to P-A and enjoy another installment of ItD!_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

The air is sober when she leads the red beret clad werewolf back into the station. The hyperventilating has ceased and the tears have stopped, leaving her with a blank features, hiding the grimace behind her mask. She cannot break down. She will not breakdown. She must will herself to believe that Snow White is not dead, that the heart is not her heart, that her best friend is still alive. The tears threaten to begin again and all she can do is pause in front of the interview room where her friend stood, eyeing him icily.

Perhaps if he had waited to drag Mary Margaret into this mess until after the curse broke then maybe, just maybe, there wouldn't be a heart sitting on a cold slab in a lab waiting to be tested. Ruby had to pull herself together, for her sanity, she had to believe that the woman sitting behind the glass window wouldn't have killed her friend minutes after expressing her respect for their relationship. It just didn't make sense.

David acknowledge their presence with a solemn nod, understanding what had to be done next. Before his daughter could object to him being the one to do it he was already walking through the door. Emma watched through the one-way glass as the dark-haired Mayor sat back in her chair, seemingly done with the situation. As if she had checked out, as if she didn't care.

Her indifference towards the possible death of her mother, her best friend angered the blonde but she held her peace and watched as David took a seat across from the indifferent, infuriating Queen.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or are you just going to keep staring at me?" Her tone is soft, lacking the usual brash that she had reserved for him in the passed couple of weeks but it retains the annoyance of being forced to be at the Sheriff's office.

His eyes fell away from hers and she dipped her head to meet him, to gauge a reaction from the depths of his expression but he gave her nothing, averting his eyes to everything but hers. "It's a one way glass Regina, you can't see what I'm doing behind it."

"I don't have to." Her head tilted to the side in mock thought, eyeing him closer than he realized. "I know you." She gleans more than he knows from his face, from his body language. "David, what's going on?"

He is unresponsive and the only retort he gives is involuntary: the filling of his eyes. He wanted to believe her, truly he did, but they found a heart and if the tests showed that it belonged to who they thought it did, then all signs pointed to Regina having gotten what she had wanted for decades.

Snow White's heart.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Her question is ignored, met with the turning of his head. "You think that I killed her?" She pondered what had changed between her falling asleep with him watching her and waking up with him avoiding her. It was him, after all, and his fight with Emma that had disrupted her short slumber; the slam of his and against a desk being the sound that jolted her awake.

"The evidence is piling up." The conflict is clear in his voice and he musters the nerve to look in her eyes, to meet her brown for blue. Despite everything that had transpired between them, the hate that bubbles beneath the love and the love that is shaded by the hate, her eyes are sincere. He can't deny that.

"What evidence?" What could have caused the shift in the atmosphere, the tears in his eyes?

He exhaled shakily, leaning into the table so that his hands could gather atop of them, inches from hers that laid flat against the wood. "We found a heart..." It's beginning to eat at him that he can't tell if she's hurt or not, that he can't tell if she's alive or dead. When she fell into the sleeping curse, he knew, he felt her slip from the grasps of his heart and now-he felt nothing. He would trust the lack of feeling as knowing that she was alright if he didn't know that the love he had for another might be clouding their love that had faded. "Regina if you need to tell me anything, tell me now before things get out of hand."

At his request, the slim fingers that were inches from him began to recede away from his presence, seemingly burned by his words. She met him eye for eye and tear for tear and she smiles. She smiles because the little sliver of trust she had placed in him was barely finished forming before he stomped on it.

"You know, for a second, I almost thought you believed in me." Not that he believed that she was telling the truth, but that he believed she wouldn't do something like this.

Not now.

"Regina that's not fair," he cleared his throat, "...What am I supposed to think when there's a heart sitting in a lab waiting to be tested!?"

"You're supposed to know MY heart." He is supposed to know that the woman he loved, the woman he laid beside, the woman who bore his children wouldn't be guilty and she had given him no impression of otherwise. "But I don't know why I expect that of you when it seems like you don't know me at all."

It was a heart, possibly the heart of Mary Margaret; her signature was hearts and she hated Mary Margaret. He knew all that he needed to. "It's all pointing to you."

"It's called a FRAME JOB!" Her voice had risen passed it's prime and cracked at her exclaim, sending the moment to it's close. A soft rap sounded on the door and he lifted his head towards the sound, not really wanting to move. He wanted to stay, he wanted to believe her but his mind wouldn't let him. Perhaps it was a frame job, but his emotions were too involved to entertain the thought.

He removed himself from the room, leaving her to weigh her feelings as he stepped outside. What caught him was the balding man with a briefcase standing beside Emma, watching the window. Ruby was understandably put off, knowing his history with Snow and out of good conscience, stepped away.

"You called him?" He directed his question towards Emma and she shrugged as if her actions were predictable.

"We have a murder investigation on our hands." Her notions are confirmed when Albert Spencer moves passed the man as if he was mere air to be walked through, opening the interview room as he and Emma stepped in, walking away from the emotionally involved Sheriff.

The tears in her eyes immediately dried up upon setting her sights on her old rival, just one of many. "Hello, Mayor Mills or Mayor Nolan-What do you go by now?" He sat down in the seat that David had vacated and put his briefcase on the table, popping it open to take out a tape recorder. He pushed it towards her and she leaned back, making her stance known. "Do you have anything to say before we get started."

She pushed herself off the back of the metal chair and pressed a manicured nail to the sidewards triangle, speaking when she heard the soft rustle of it's static. "Not. Guilty," she enunciated before pressing the button once more, ending the record.

He smirked at her actions, setting his hands in front of himself as he looked her over similar to a predator and it's prey. "Why don't you just do us all a favor and confess, " he smiled vindictively, "..save us the trouble?"

Perhaps he had forgotten that she was a predator as well. She leaned forward without a stitch of fear in her eyes as they sized out, announcing that she was in no mood to be intimidated or to be propagated like a piece of meat, punished for something that she had no choosing in. "Why don't you put away the tape recorder so we can have an honest conversation, George?"

He pursed his lips to keep from responding to her, seemingly pondering her request. With a tight-lipped expression, he nodded and set his briefcase and the tape recorder aside. "Very well then...Your majesty."

The pretenses were done with and the familiarity was back. There was no reason to hide now, it was all out in the open and the tension between the two nearly suffocated the blonde Sheriff that watched, intrigued in the corner with her arms folded over her chest.

The former monarchs eyed each other, a stare down being more than just pupil to pupil and ego to ego. There was something deeper there, something far more sinister than either of them knew. They had been pitted against each other, working as enemies with jealousy and power rooted at the thrones of their heart, his heart really.

"Why'd you do it?" His question leaves her with furrowed brows and lips curved into a smirk, feeding off of the immediate insecurity that hides behind his faux bravado as he sits before her, the King of penury, unable to maintain his own kingdom. "Oh, don't play dumb Regina, it doesn't suit you,." She snorts at his remark, barely impressed by his attempts to cut her off at the knees to make himself tall.

"Nor does your balding head suit you dear but alas, " she flashed a charming smile, "...to each his own."

Indicative of her attitude, he knew that he couldn't extract anything from her and the only way was to lay it on the table and have her claim it. "You killed James."

"I believe you're mistaken; the last time I checked, I wasn't a sweaty knight with anger issues-"

"You know what I am talking about!" His hands met the table in an abrasive front as the jugular in his neck bulged with his scarlet color change. "You bankrupted my kingdom and my son had to put his life on the line-his blood is on YOUR hands."

Her eyes were unmoving, trained on his as they tuned to hers. She could be nothing but calm, knowing that it would all be settled in the end. "Is that why you're doing this to me?" She was beginning to see it now, the deception, the trickery. "Did you set me up to avenge a kingdom you mismanaged and a whoring son you propagated for gold?" She shrugged. "Seems a bit extreme."

She was baiting him and he knew it, he wouldn't bite. His mouth opened to retort and he clamped it shut before easing back into his chair. Too much information gave her too much power and at his point, he needed her as weak as he could get her. His need to get her weak turned out to be his weakness, it was the light that shown in his eyes that gave him away, gave away his plans. She knew that look, the stare of vengeance, when you can taste it on the tip of your tongue and barely feel it pressed against the print of your fingers; the glean in your eyes as their despair passes your thoughts once more.

She knew it all to well.

"I didn't set you up." He was calm in his claim, making direct contact with her eyes. "You kidnapped Mary Margaret. You killed her and you carved her heart out-You did that." Before she could respond, he cut her off. "But contrary to what you may believe, I'm on your side...Had I been woken up earlier you wouldn't be in this sorry state."

"What does that mean?"

"Well you'd be just as barren as that Amalekite Snow White."

"What are you talking about? Snow has a child." She waved her hand at Emma carelessly, beginning to get irritated with the redundancy of the conversation.

"Oh c'mon Regina, surely you can figure it out." She quirked a brow and he leaned forward, a sly smile on his lips. "Magic." She stiffened at the mention, leaning back to maximize the space between them. "With that being said, if the potion were to fall in my hands again I wouldn't hesitate to use it." He stood with his briefcase in tow. "We're done here."

Both women were left confused but one more than the other. Emma offered him a nod, not really seeing any progress. He was supposed to offer her a plea bargain, perhaps help her get a confession but all he seemed to do was attempt to assert his power, maybe even vaguely threaten her. Henry's book failed to mention anything about her mother being barren, supposedly unable to carry children.

But of course, Henry's book didn't mention a lot of things.

The Sheriff, seemingly out of the loop, pushed herself off of the wall to watch as the Mayor leaned back on the chair, arms crossed over her stomach. The identity that she usually shields herself with has begun to thin and the worry is shining through.

Seeing this, she attempted to extract what she can while the woman's guard was seemingly faltering. "I don't know what your deal is with D.A. Spencer", her hand rose to prevent Regina from interrupting, "...and I don't want to know about it. I can tell that you don't trust him like the other lawyers around town." Regina rolled her eyes, she didn't trust anybody. It was obvious to her that he had something to do with things; why didn't anyone else see it? "Regina, just come clean will ya? Besides David and a 3 year old, theres no one else to vouch for you. And your records aren't that sparkly clean if Henry's book is anything to go by."

"Did I stutter earlier? Or maybe you need to get your ears checked, Ms. Swan. I did not-" She paused, seeing the wall in front of them vibrate, as if it had been struck by a blunt object. Emma began to step backwards, peeking her head out of the door before running towards whatever was causing the commotion.

"DON'T," They are broken screams. "...HURT," They are barely comprehensible. "MY FAMILY," They are the yells of a man whose heart has made a decision that he was not yet ready to make.

Outside, Emma attempted to aide Ruby in restraining the angered Prince but the grasp that he holds on the District Attorney is far too great. By the lapels of his jacket, the man is slammed against the wall as though he is meat, fit to be pounded. He sees red and for a few moments there is only silence, punctuated by the alternating breaths of those excited by the commotion. The silence allows for eyes to meet and exchanges to be made, threats to be declared. He looks into the eyes of the man that tried to take everything from him and he makes his threats clear. The monarch looks into the eyes of a man that he blames for his loss of everything and accepts his challenge.

In the silence, it becomes somber; it becomes real.

"David." It is her voice that plants his feet on the ground, that cools the steam in his ears. Her voice, stern yet gentle, worn yet strong enough to get through to him.

The grip he has on Albert's jacket loosened and the man snorted in response, unimpressed by his quick recession. "Weak to a woman that's not even your real wife?" His upward inflection was met with a grunt as he was slammed up against the wall and pained into silence.

"David, ignore him." She sends an involuntary calm his way but he can't help the question that burns in his mind.

"What did you do to her?"

Albert smirked in response, straining his neck passed being pinned up against the wall. "I poisoned her." He bared his teeth, smirking when the man paled. "And the sacrifice that was paid to lift her curse?" He leaned in closer, nose to nose with his faux son. "Your mother."

The minute the words were spat at him, David let go. Had he held on, he would've probably killed the man that stood in front him, perhaps even choked him until his blood ran cold. He had to walk away. He had to leave that hallway.

Watching the emotionally drained man go, she had the urge to follow him but of course, there were some things that she just couldn't do; walk passed Emma Ruby and Albert to go to a man that neither of them considered to be her husband was one of them. The disgruntled King stood to his feet and pulled his weight off of the wall, picking up his discarded briefcase before walking out of the door with a smirk painted on his face.

Ruby walked out to see about David and the first words that stumbled out of the Mayor's mouth weren't planned. "You are aware that he framed me, right?" Emma's eyes widened and her mouth flapped for an answer.

Meanwhile, within the four walls of the Sheriff's office former friends stood opposite each other without being able to speak. What could they say? If Snow was really dead, Ruby couldn't exactly say that she would be able to have David remain blameless in that. He was guilty in part of this, he had to be. Perhaps if had approached the situation with enough grace to wait until the curse had lifted to pursue her then Snow wouldn't have been a target.

However, for some reason she didn't think that Regina was the culprit. The evidence made sense but then again it didn't. It was a heart and yes Regina had a penchant for ripping out hearts but then where was the body and what could she possibly think this would solve?

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Did you know?" His eyes flipped up at her accusingly and she shook her head vigorously, denying whatever he thought.

"Snow never told me about any of this..." She dipped her head to see the confusion in his eyes, trying to piece together Albert's words. He didn't know the story and all he was left with were bits and pieces of a broken tale that included the cursing of his wife and the death of his mother. But in the end, Snow's curse was lifted and his mother stayed dead.

"You can ask Snow about it when we find her-if we find her." Her tone had suddenly changed, no longer comforting or sensitive to what he was going through.

"Are you trying to blame this on me?" He stood up straight and Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you serious Red?" He called her by her name, her original name and watched as her defenses fell.

"Maybe if you didn't have the constant need of being with someone then we wouldn't be here."

"We are NOT here because of me." His face was just calming from the red that had painted him mere moments ago before he was beginning to meet that shade once again. "You don't know what the hell has been going on!" His voice began to raise and Ruby backed up, ready to hear his side of the story.

She had been getting bits and pieces just like he had and she failed to see his point of view, that she knows. But now she's open to it.

"Do you really think that I don't feel guilty for what's happened? You think it doesn't eat me up? The fact that not only did I love my cursed life-I don't regret it!" He turned, a hand running down his face as Ruby felt the brunt of his anger. "If I could choose, I know who I'd want and that-that kills me." She was speechless, unable to form words that could sum up her conflicting feelings. "But when Snow wakes up, I have to go back to her." The conviction in his voice was evident, giving Ruby the floor when he let out a shaky breath.

"David, you don't have to go back to Snow." Her voice was small but sure. She couldn't be biased in her opinions or her advice, she had to give him the truth and let him decide what it meant. "You just have to stop hurting these women." With that, the waitress gone deputy turned to leave the hallway and left the man she once considered a great friend but now she couldn't recognize him. She couldn't recognize herself either, dressed up in a modern costume of garbs that she didn't recognize, that she didn't ask for.

She couldn't criticize him for wanting his cursed life back, for not wanting to wake up, because she wanted the same thing. If she could just forget, wipe her memory clean of a past stained with the blood of innocent people then she would. She would throw herself into a cursed life that she didn't ask for because it did more for her than the life that she was originally given.

"Regina, who framed you? D.A. Spencer?" On the other side, Emma's hand propped on her hip as if she was dealing with a lying child, ready to be punished.

It was a gesture that the Mayor immediately picked up on, stepping back when she realized that it didn't matter what she had to say or what she could prove, she was guilty. The blonde's mother had possibly been murdered and she was the scapegoat, she was the obvious choice. When she really wanted to run, she just pushed the opposite door open and walked to the cell that had been designated for her. Eventually those fools would have no choice but to figure out the truth and when they did it would all blow over.

It had to.

Not that she had that much faith in them, but she knew the workings of the judicial system and they couldn't prosecute her without a body. And honestly, she didn't think there was one. By the way King George was talking, not only was he out for her but he was out for Snow as well and knowing vengeance, his was not the kind that could simply be done away with by murder. He sought suffering and misery, similar to what he had experienced. Where had he gotten the heart? Perhaps the man that woke him from the curse in the first place.

Emma followed behind her, watching as she maintained the prideful strut that she always had, without fail. "Why'd you do it?"

Regina entered her cell and sat down on the cot, at first believing that she would ignore the blonde's question. After seconds of deliberation, she cocked her head to look at the woman that stood in the opening, keys in her hand. "Are you referring to my cursing thousands or the belief that I murdered your mother?"

"Really, Regina? There's a freaking heart!"

"And yet you haven't cried." She shrugged and the Sheriff's eyes darkened considerably, her mouth setting in a thin line.

"You don't know what I've done." Her tone was low, instantly changing from the screeching of mere moments before.

She had hit a nerve.

"If you really thought she was dead then you would be mourning her. Or does that have to do with the fact that so many people have left you, there are no tears left to cry?" She isn't mocking the woman, but she seems to be speaking from experience. Their eyes met and the blonde wanted to retort and tell her that she is nothing like her, that they share nothing but the air they currently breathe but she couldn't.

Because it wouldn't be true.

"You know, just as I do, that Mary Margaret is alive. The evidence says one thing but you know otherwise." She smirked, not minding that the woman was standing and she was sitting; the control was still in her hands. "Tell me, what did you find in my home that you won't tell the others? A butcher's knife? Machete?"

"Under Charlotte's bed."

Regina's mouth stops mid pause, leaving it open with no words to come forth; for the first time, Emma sees the Mayor speechless. She turned away when her eyes widened, knowing that the fear in her heart would reflect in her eyes and Emma would probably think that it was fear of being found out rather than actual terror for her children.

"He was in my house?" It came out as a whisper of disbelief, one that the Sheriff didn't expect. "And you-you thought I would put a machete under my child's bed, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"It was a carving knife, Regina you know that."

"Stop!" She jumped from the cot, standing to her feet. "You will not pin this on me just to have closure because you're too messed up to cry about it!" The blonde was silenced as the Mayor entered her personal space, something that had a tendency to be violated that day. "I would NEVER put my children in such blatant danger-And if you think otherwise than you're just as naive and stupid as your mother, may she rest in peace." Her tone was dripping in sarcasm but the blonde probed anyway.

"I thought you said she wasn't dead-"

"Well around here, we believe what we're told rather than what we know and since you found a knife, I guess that means a body is sure to follow." She spat her words at her adversary before reaching in front of them and pulling the cell closed, causing Emma to jump back in surprise. She leaned against the bars, hands gripping them as she got as close to the Sheriff as she could. "And if any harm comes to Charlotte or Henry, David and Ruby will find a body," her head shook with a snarl, "..but it won't be Mary Margaret's."

Emma's mouth opened at the threat and Regina backed away from the bars, seeing Ruby and David enter the room. Hearing footsteps, Emma's head dropped as she turned around with a yearn to finish their conversation. Slow steps took her to where the other Sheriff and Deputy stood, both just as drained as she was.

"Emma, I hate to be the one to say it, but I don't think it all makes sense. First of all, who is the person that puts Regina near Granny's around the same time I was with her?"

Emma stuffed her hands in her pocket with a stare that seemed to go right through Ruby. "I wanna verify it before I put it into evidence."

"No." David shook his head, holding a hand up. "You aren't in charge here.." Emma paused at his aggression, looking him up and down as a hand snapped to his hip. "You need to tell us everything you know so that, as a team, we can find Mary Margaret."

"David you're too emotionally involved-"

"That's bullshit and you know it! We're all too emotionally involved but we're all working together and in order to do that we can't hide anything from each other so unless you want me to take your badge, I suggest you tell me what you know."

Emma blinked wordlessly at his candor, so used to the soft side of David that she forgot there was a brash Prince beneath him that occasionally slipped out. "Sidney Glass."

"Sidney? The guy that has the hots for.." Ruby trailed off, feeling David's eyes burn into the side of her head. "Jeez, you know it's true..."

"And I searched the house." David rolled his eyes. He knew that she was the type that liked to work alone but hiding information wasn't going to get them anywhere. "There was a carving knife under Charlotte's bed."

Both women looked to David, gauging his reaction. He paused, looking away as he crossed his arms over his chest, probably in an attempt to keep his cool. After a moment of silence, he looked up with wide eyes of realization that neither of them could decipher "She didn't do it."

"What? How do you know?"

After accusing her of intentionally trying to hurt their children, he would never make that mistake again. He knew whats she was capable of and putting a knife under Charlotte's bed wasn't a part of that. "It doesn't make sense! Someone had to have planted the evidence, I mean of all places...Charlotte's bedroom? It's almost as if someone is trying so hard to be Regina that they're over doing it...She would never put a knife under our child's bed."

The similarities in their defenses were uncanny and Emma shrugged, seemingly unconvinced. "I still don't trust her."

"Well we don't have enough to hold her-We need to let her go."

"But what if she did do it and this is just an elaborate rouse to send us on a wild goose chase?"

"That's slim to none and with such small chances, I'm not letting her stay here overnight for something she probably didn't do." In the face of new evidence, it seemed that his faith had been restored but perhaps it was too little too late.

"Fine, since you're in charge, you stay with her."

"What?"

"Take her home and stay with her. That way, you get what you want and I know that, regardless of her involvement, she's with law enforcement. After all, she's 'your wife'." She threw his words back at him and tossed the keys into his hands before walking away, most likely, to go cool off.

Ruby eyed David carefully, stepping in front of him before following behind Emma. "Remember what I said, " he looked up at her and she gave him a small smile with the hope that perhaps Mary Margaret _was _alive and Regina didn't play a part in a faux homicide.

The air was beginning to clear and maybe, just maybe there was hope. At this point they were fearful of hope though, an intangible feeling that has the ability to knock the wind out of you if it fails to deliver. He was hopeful that when he walked in her cell, she would accept his gestures, she would accept his presence. He took a seat on the cot beside her and she looked away, crossing her arms below her chest so that he could make no moves towards her hands.

"I know you didn't do this..."

"Wow.." She sniffled as a discreet hand wiped under her eye. "What a difference an hour makes."

"Regina..." He moved to touch her back but she scooted away at the contact, wanting nothing to do with him.

"Would it be too much to ask for someone to be on my side, for once?" She held herself, tight around the middle as she spoke with a shaking tone. In her mind, when no one believes you can do better, you're doomed to do worse and in her experience, when you do worse you become nothing more than your deeds. They follow you, they become you, they are you and that's what everyone sees. Her only wish was that someone, if only one person believed in her enough to know that she wouldn't do certain things than perhaps the dark side wouldn't seem so welcoming.

"Can you give me the benefit of the doubt? Regina, there was a heart."

"Can you EVER give _me _the benefit of the doubt?"

"I have, believe me, I have."

"Believe you? Why should I believe you when all you've done is look at my past and point fingers at me because it made SENSE." She turned away from him, giving her his back to talk to. She hated that even when he had turned his back on her, she still wanted to comfort him. Even after he accused her of murder, when she saw the hurt shining in his eyes, she wanted nothing more than to hold him close. They were tied to each other, it was undeniable, but at times it seemed like she was tied tighter than he was.

"Regina, that's not true-"

"Is it now?"

"Yes, a carving knife, maybe, but in Charlotte's room, you wouldn't do that."

She scoffed, still feeling the stings of his early accusations. "Oh, so now you know me?"

"Regina, don't do this.."

She sighed, leaning back so that her back hit the wall. She could barely sit up, too done with the situation to even care about how he perceived her body language at that point. "I am so tired of you telling me what to do.." It was a low rasp that took him by surprise because it sounded like the woman he knew, the woman that he had hurt. "You left me.." She is guttural with her words, shaking from the unshed tears building in her throat. "And yet you have the _audacity _to act as though you have the right to tell me what to do. 'Regina, you can't do this', 'Regina, you don't get to do this', 'Regina, don't do this-"

"Regina-"

"Shut. Up." He is silence by her tone, cutting him at every turn. "I am tired of you coming to me just to leave me. I am tired of you holding me just to drop me, I AM TIRED." She shook her head, letting the sole tear that escaped run down her face. "I don't care that you believe me now, it makes no difference. The fact is, when things got rocky the first thing you did was ask me for a confession."

What could he say? The more he wanted her, the more he pushed her away. It felt as though she had gone so far, he wasn't sure he could reach her anymore. "Something tells me that you won't care for an apology."

"Well look at that." She pans with a sarcastic monotony, no longer looking at him. "...first time you've been right all day.

He stood, understanding that she probably wanted him to leave but that was going to be pretty hard considering their current situation. "We're letting you go on the condition that an officer stays with you at all times."

Her eyes finally batted up at him and she shook her head in defiance. "No."

"Regina, you'd rather stay in a cell all night than let me come home with you?"

"Do you think this is some kind of game?" She leaned forward, barely able to contain her anger. "I don't want to see you right now."

"Well then close your damn eyes!" He raised his voice and she recoiled at the volume. "But I'm not letting you sit here alone all night because if we're right and someone is framing you then you need to be watched regardless and I can't stay here because someone needs to watch Charlotte. You hate Emma so I doubt you want her around Charlotte or watching you and we both remember what happened the last time Ruby watched Charlotte." She rolled her eyes and he sighed, matching her fury for fury. "You're angry? Fine, be angry but I'm not going to let you put your safety at risk just because I pissed you off-"

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine." She pushed herself off of the cot and stood, stepping towards him so that they were toe to toe and rage to rage. "But _stay_ out of _my _way." And with that vaguely venomous threat, she pushed passed him and he swallowed, following behind her.

Whilst the air is still sober and the coming days are destined to be quite interesting.

**TBC**


	12. Hidden

It had been a long day; he went from thinking she was innocent, to feeling like she was guilty to knowing she was innocent and feeling as though he was the one that was guilty. His mind soared with the events of the day, still reeling from the missing pieces that contributed to his mother's death. He was yet to succumb to the anger for lack of evidence but little did he know, when he did find out the story, it would change things dramatically. He thought about the vague threats made by Albert, threats that he had too much confidence to pull through. Someone was behind him, standing with him.

He seemed too strong to be alone.

But of course, a lot of people he knew felt alone but were too strong to show it. It's a strength that comes from hidden weaknesses and broken promises, a lethal combination. His confliction externalized itself and now is affecting those around him, his battle with the Prince and the Sheriff, the man and the persona. How could he take Ruby's advice without creating a bigger mess? It seemed like every step he took had a consequence greater than himself and if that was so, what was he to do? It was like digging to get out of a hole; it just got deeper and deeper. Pretty soon, he wouldn't be able to see the light of day.

His stagnant decisions were far overdue and the ripple effect was becoming clear. He barely saw Henry anymore, Charlotte wondered aloud why her parent's didn't live under the same roof, the relationship he had barely built with Emma was already deteriorating and he had no idea if Ruby and him were even on good terms while Mary Margaret was nowhere to be found. That only left Regina, someone he was unable to fit into words.

She stood tall on the sidewalk in front of his truck, tapping the toe of her heels against the whitewashed pavement as he walked down the path. With intentions beyond her control, he waited for her on the passenger's side with the door open. It amazed her really, how the smallest of actions could provoke the largest of conflictions.

The ripple effect at it's finest.

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth without even realizing that it was an obvious tell, revealing more about how she felt than she wished to share. He didn't need to know how uneasy he made her, how his extended hand still fluttered her stomach in a way that she didn't want to feel towards him. Who would want to expose how they felt after being repeatedly disregarded? She had her hidden weaknesses and he had broken promises; a lethal combination.

In an effort to avoid taking his hand, she had to approach his truck by herself, holding on to anything in view to keep from falling. However, it was futile when his hand slid under the hand she held on the window, palm to palm as he became a support for her. With one leg bounded on the step stool and the other on the pavement, she let out a shaky breath as nostalgia fell like a ton of bricks. Had his other hand not been on her back, she might not have been able to take it, unable to bare the teasing memories that it offered.

_"Close your eyes." Big hands covered her eyes as he led her out of the door, weary of his surprise._

_"You know dear, having me close my eyes while you cover my eyes is a bit redundant." Her tone was full of snark and sarcasm as he lead her down the steps, one by one, so that she didn't take a spill._

_"Well you're a bit impatient so you leave me no choice but to take extra precaution." She chuckled in response, only pausing when the grass touched her heels and curiosity struck again. _

_"David..."_

_"Open your eyes!" He whispered, excitement laced in each of his words._

_"David..."_

_"What do you think?"_

_"Dear, you have to move your hands so that I can see." With boisterous laughs he dropped his hands so that they wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him until there was no space left between them. _

_"So..." He kissed her neck gently, gauging her reaction. "What do you think?"_

_She lifted a brow, trying to seem surprised but was failing miserably. "Of your truck? I'm not that fond of it but it's a reliable vehicle." She turned around to offer him a believable smile and his fell, disappointed that she didn't see what he was talking about._

_He left her side and jogged over to his truck, flailing his arms as if he were Vanna White, showing her a prize. "A step stool!"_

_"A what?" _

_He rolled his eyes and put his foot on the small step. "You're always saying how it's too hard to get into my truck because you're just so tiny-"_

_"I didn't-"_

_"And small.." He teased, nearing her once more. His arm reached out and pulled her by the waist, "...and mine."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Oh." He nodded in confirmation and pecked her lips._

_"So I'm tiny and small and yours and I can get into your truck with minimal assistance?"_

_"That's the idea..."_

_"Well then.." Her arms wrapped around his neck as he pulled her closer. "I love it."_

"Regina?" He called her name and she snapped back to the reality that she was forced to live rather than the one she often traveled to. A teasing memory, it was. She swallowed thickly as he closed the door behind her, bringing herself back to the present lacking the evidence of the love that she wanted, that she wished remained between them.

Her eyes fell closed as he pulled away, warding off whatever was building within her. She had to shut it down, gut it by the root; crying over a mess that she put herself in would do nothing but puff up her eyes and wear out her breathing. She clutched at her chest, willing the tears to halt, to stop in their tracks. He looked over at her occasionally, eyes shut tight and brows knit in concentration. It pained him to know that she had to try so hard to resist him, to not fall prey to the ere of being around him, of being together.

To his own relief, she had put herself to sleep, breath evening out and brows straightening as she succumbed to the events of the day and fell into a slumber that was long overdue. If only for a moment, she had peace and that's all he could really ask for at that point. Between both of them flip-flopping with their emotions, one would think that they were both suffering from the same mood swings. But of course, the reality of their situation spoke louder than the possibility of hormones; in their situation, stability was the hardest thing to attain besides happiness.

Pulling onto Mifflin street made his heart drop for more reasons than one; perhaps it the realization that there was no one else to be the buffer between them or the fact that he would have to wake her up despite the peaceful state she seemed to be in. He doubted, she'd take too kindly to waking up in his arms as he carried her up their winding staircase.

So instead, he took the safe route and walked around to her side of his pickup and opened the door before guiltily running a thumb over her cheek, knowing that he could do no more; he had lost the privilege. She stirred at the touch but did not awaken, only leaning into his touch until he could lovingly cup her face. Only in her sleep could he get what he wanted most; touch her without recoil, see her at peace.

But it was always short-lived.

Her eyes flittered open and met his surprise for surprise. Neither of them said anything, both of them swallowed quickly; it was clear what they wanted, what would make them both happy but two things stood in the way of their future. Their past and their present; hidden weaknesses and broken promises.

He extended a shaky hand that she took reluctantly, stepping on the stool wordlessly before her heels hit the pavement and they were too close for comfort, toe to toe with nowhere to hide but behind a mask that the other could easily penetrate. Expectation leaned towards a moment, perhaps a kiss, but reality yielded a sleepy stare that slowly morphed into a blank state that he failed to decipher. She side stepped him and walked up the path slowly, obviously taking her time as to not slip and fall. He followed behind her, watching her steps closely for more than one reason.

Whens she reached for the railing, he was right behind her, cautious in her abnormal actions. Only when feeling weak, would she lean on something and even grabbing the rail took an ounce out of her pride. An unlocked door and an empty foyer left them both standing with nothing to say, nothing that could be said. Both wanted to try but were to hurt to admit it and neither were willing to accept their evils, their barriers keeping them from one another.

When standing in an awkward silence became excessive, she retreated to the stairway. It gave her pause, the twirling staircase that she stood in front of, a giant facing a giant.

_She stared at the twisting steps as if it were a feat to be conquered by an exhausted, miserable, heavily pregnant Mayor. Walking from the foyer, she was barely upright before her purse slipped from her shoulder and she lazily stepped out of her heels, discarding them on the floor. Hearing the clatter, he peaked his head around the corner to see the mess that she left behind and the fact that she simply could care less, eyes practically shut as she slid her feet across the floor. _

_He shook his head, trying not to be angry. He told her that the job was beginning to take a toll on her and she should be on maternity leave but she didn't listen and now he was married to a zombie. When she met the mountain of stairs, her head inclined to the top and before she could give up and just go lay on the couch, an arm met the top of her back. "You're going on leave." He stated sternly, bending to undermined her knees before lifting her with an ease that he had long mastered._

_She nodded weakly against his chest, eyes falling closed when she no longer had the responsibility of baring her own weight. Mumbling softly, she agreed with no more fight left in her. "Fine."_

He stepped behind her, knowing that he had lost the privilege but still wondering if there were any exceptions for times like this. Feeling his presence, the ere of proximity closing in, she placed a hand on the rail and walked up the steps slowly but surely not looking for any assistance. If he couldn't stand beside her, then she didn't need him behind her.

Staying there felt like a haunted house with memories popping up at every corner and every turn. Was it the memory that scared him or the fact that he could never escape five years of his life that he had lived without regret? Was it the fact that the woman he should hate was the only person he could see spending the rest of his life with, the only women whose absence left him with a void, unable to be filled.

Or maybe it was the simple fact that he was beginning to understand her? The hesitation and reluctance to accept the bond that had been forged between them was dwindling. Like it or not, he had spent five years with her and six if he counted their short courtship. They were madly in love, every day for years and it is foolish to think that such feelings could be so easily diminished. Yes, there was hurt. Yes there was betrayal. Yes, there was anger. Yes, there was even hate. But he loved her more than he was hurt by her, he loved her more than the sting of betrayal he felt, he loved her more than the anger that sat within him and the love he felt made the hate seem insignificant.

But Snow.

They didn't have that long to be together and when they were taken away from each other, they were still finding their footing within the marriage. If she were to come back to him that day, he didn't know how he would feel. Perhaps elated that she was fine and well but the uneasiness would surely be there. Any decision he made would have consequences that seemed unbearable. He'd break Snow's heart, the town would turn against him and Emma would never experience having her parents together like she would have if the curse hadn't brought them to a new land.

But Regina.

If he left her, Charlotte's world would be turned upside down. She was already affected by their living situation and the changes in her mood were evident; she was detached and quieter, unlike herself. And there was another child to be added into the mix in a few months, a child that would grow up in a broken home. Of course, their children would know that they were loved and cherished but the tension between their parents would be impalpable. Emma was an adult but Charlotte was just a toddler. Not to mention Henry and the warped perception he had of his family. It was disconcerting to think of what his head must be filled with, living a town in which he was the only one who aged and made to feel as though he were imagining it; his anger was understandable.

He hadn't heard from Regina in a few hours and assumed that she was sleeping and avoiding him, avoiding him to sleep or sleeping to avoiding him; he didn't know which was her reasoning. In the end, she should be sleeping anyway after the short day of events that she had endured.

The doorbell rang and he was quick to answer it, hoping that the prolonged noise wouldn't wake her up prematurely. He opened the door to see a sullen Charlotte holding onto the hand of Ashley as they waited. The little girl looked up from the steel toed boots to the the badge and she knew who it was before her eyes could even reach his face. She lunged at him lovingly, wrapping her short arms around his legs as he laughed at her excitement. He bent down and gripped her sides, tossing her up in the air playfully.

"Daddy!" She buried her face in his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his neck, squeezing tightly. It had been too long since she came home and was greeted by her father, since she had both parents in the house. He waved a thanks to Ashley and she did the same, leaving to walk down the path as he closed the door behind them.

Charlotte lifted her head and planted a wet kiss on David's cheek, "I miss you, Daddy." He didn't know if she meant to say the past tense of miss, if she meant to say that she missed him before she saw him or that she actively missed him, that the driveby visits weren't working. Either way, it hurt his heart to think of her having to feel that way.

"I missed you too, Charlie horse." Carrying his daughter in his arms, he beamed with a rare fatherly pride as she nuzzled against him, playing with the collar of his shirt, fiddling the material between her tiny fingers.

When they reached the kitchen, he sat her down on the counter so that her legs hung free in the air. Looking up almost immediately, her brown eyes lit up with an unparalleled excitement, tinted with a bit of hesitation. "Is Mommy here?"

"Of course she's here." He flicked her cheek and she giggled, making a move to jump down from the counter. "Whoa, whoa girl." He stopped her by the waist and she spurred at him, imitating a frustrated horse. "Mommy's sleeping...I'm sure she'd love to play horsey with you when she wakes up, okay?" She pouted sadly, looking up at him with big brown eyes that melted his heart. Of course, he faltered looking at his little girl but he couldn't just wake up Regina when she was finally sleeping for the first time in God knows how long. "Okay, okay.." He mumbled to himself, looking away to avoid the puppy dog eyes. "Tell you what-" he took her down from the counter and bent to her level. "I'll play horsey with you."

Charlotte shook her head and folded her arms over her chest in a denial of his proposal. "No, Daddy."

He tried to suppress his laughter, holding to her elbows gently. "Why can't Daddy play horsey with you?"

"You're not a good horsey."

"Really?" He arched a brow but ended up just looking surprised when both his brows raised and Charlotte erupted into a fit of giggles that he took advantage of, tickling her until her laughter got too loud.

She caught her breath and flinched playfully at his hands that inched towards her, backing away with a grin. "Mommy said so, mommy said so!" She defended, attempting to get out of the tickle corner.

"What did mommy say?"

"She said you're not a good horsey but you can ride horsies." His smile fell momentarily, realizing that not only did their past haunt her put it slipped into their everyday life. He couldn't escape either life; the best he could do was meld the two together and deal with the residual.

"Can we color?"

"Sure," he bent down and spurred in her face, touching her cheek with his nose as he got on all fours without shame. "...if you can beat Mr. Horsey there." She laughed at his mediocre horse voice and noise, squealing when he nudged her forward with his head. She ran up the stairs and he ran behind her, hoping that the noise wouldn't wake his wife.

Wait...

Did he still have that privileged or had that been stripped too?

X

"Daddy, stay in the lines!" Charlotte demanded from the other side of the table, peering over at him every so often to inspect his coloring skills. She hadn't even trusted him enough to just let him draw, providing him with a coloring book as if he were a beginner and had to prove himself and work his way up the ladder.

"I'm trying Charlie.." Who knew the mailman was so hard to color? He lifted up his work and watched as Charlotte shook her head before taking the book and flipping the page.

"Mommy's better."

"Mommy is better at everything..." He mumbled, grabbing a new crayon to begin his second page.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you staying?" Her question dropped a bomb on his chest but it didn't explode; it just ticked, waiting to bombard him with emotions.

"I uh.." He continued coloring, looking at the book. "I'll be here tonight, sweetie."

He paused, hearing her crayon drop on the table. Looking at her drawing, he could see where his answer had disappointed her, evident in the stray purple mark in her otherwise perfected drawing. Her eyes began to water and he knew that it was not what she meant. "What 'bout 'morrow?" Her unshed tears constricted her speech and she wiped at her eyes sheepishly.

Dammit. He was within seconds of shedding a tear or two as well. It was one thing to see his baby girl cry but to cry because her parents weren't under the same roof, to cry because they were arguing and wouldn't talk to each other-She had her parents since she was born and now all of a sudden things are different, things are broken.

"Hey, hey..." He quickly got out of the undersized chair and knelt in front of her with outstretched arms that she shook her head to. "It's alright Charlie sweetie, don't cry."

"I want mommy.." She grumbled, continuing to shake her head.

"I told you Charlie, she's sleeping.." He neared her and she backed away; Regina was usually the one to handle her when she got emotional, being the only one that was able to calm her down.

"Wake her up!" And now the tantrum was setting in. She didn't want to be placated, she wanted her parents-together. And she was expressing it in the only way she knew how.

"I can't do that Charlie..." He maintained a gentle voice, hoping that she wouldn't escalate to temper tantrum mode. Her face contorted in preparation for a good, loud cry and he panicked, speaking before he thought. "Because she's...she's got something for you." If Charlotte yelled, Regina would surely be up and angry.

She sniffled in response, covering her eyes as she wiped away the tears. "Wh-What?" Her response was hiccuped and choppy as he pulled her to him, having her sit on his knee as he came up with something to tell his emotional toddler.

"A...a baby."

"A b-baby?" She perked up, thinking of the chubby little people she rarely saw around town.

"A baby brother...like Henry but he's smaller." He sighed in relief, they hadn't even thought to tell Charlotte since he moved out and Regina was out of the danger zone but of course, they had forgotten a lot of things. What Charlotte assumed of her mother's weight gain wasn't even considered.

"Can I have him?" Her eyes widened with excitement, perking up her tear stained cheeks.

"See that's the thing Charlie honey, It's gonna take a while for Mommy to have him."

"How much longer?"

"A few months..."

She pouted but proceeded with the questions, "Where is he? Is he at the store where my Mommy get's by dollies?"

David chuckled, smoothing the hair on her face so that it curved to the side rather than over her eyes. "No sweetie, he's...he's in Mommy's tummy."

He touched a finger to her belly button and she giggled, looking at her own stomach curiously. "Do I have a baby brother in my tummy?"

"NO," he cleared his throat, "..um, no...no sweetie you don't..and you won't for a very long.." he paused, "...you won't, don't worry about it...ever." He kissed her forehead and she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him lift her in the air. "Now, are ya hungry?"

She nodded shyly and he blew raspberries on her cheek, forgetting about the noises and only delighting in the sound of her happiness, what sounded like pure, unadulterated happiness. "Well, let's do something about that...What do ya say..." He pulled her in front of him with outstretched arms and she grinned when he pressed her forehead to his. "I will make you a grilled cheese..."

"Yay!" She clapped happily.

"But..." The clapping stopped and she squinted at him. If his grip wasn't so firm around her small waist, the uncanny resemblance to her mother would've made him drop her, startled by the sudden feelof staring at Regina face to face. "...you have to teach me to be a better horsey."

She nodded and he kissed her cheek once more, hoisting her on his hip as he bolted down the stairs, valuing the time they had together. Plans for the next day were unknown and the way they were living, even the evening was unknown.

X

Charlotte had passed out shortly after eating, typical of her after a playful day. Once again, the house was quiet and he was left with the memories that were left in each room and at every corner. Maybe if his reaction wasn't so immediate, maybe if he talked to her instead of talked at her; there were too many things that he could have done to change the course of events that led to their crosswords but the issue at hand was the present, not the should've, could've, would'ves of the past.

_He had left work early, happy to come home and see his family, spend more time with his wife and child. He had planned to ask what she thought the sex of the baby was, knowing that it was too early but still unable to contain his wandering thoughts. He had a feeling that it was a boy but he'd hear her thoughts before telling her to avoid her hormonal wrath._

_Something had been off wit her though, besides the nausea and the fatigue she just didn't seem like herself. Things had, of course, been different since Emma came into town but he didn't see the woman as a threat so much as an opportunity for Henry to avoid questions later on in life about his birth parents. Emma being in town could be good, but his wife didn't see it that way. She had tried her best to get the woman out of town, tactics that he and Graham, at times, turned a blind eye to. Pulling up into the driveway, he hoped that she was feeling better._

_But walking into the home, he knew that his hopes were not to be fulfilled."Regina?" Walking up the mini flight of stairs, he found the source of sadness to be his wife sitting at the head of the dining room table with only a box of Kleenex and a cup of tea to soothe her._

_"What-" He paused, seeing the suitcases lined up beside her. "Why are your bags packed?"_

_She lifted her eyes to meet his eyes and the sight nearly broke her. The imp was right, she had fallen for Prince Charming. She knew this by the way her body ached to be held by him, her lips yearned to be kissed by his and the only thing that had the ability to calm her was his voice. "My bags aren't packed, yours are." He took a step back and she motioned for him to sit, in which he did, almost immediately reaching for her hand. _

_She placed her hand in her lap, refusing any contact. "You're going to want to leave when I finish."_

_Little did he know, he had left work early, happy to come home and see his family, spend more time with his wife and child only to find out that his life was a lie, an intricate aspect in a game that he was not a player in; just a pawn._

But that was in the moment, in a moment of anger and betrayal and hate culminated into a dramatic exit that he hadn't planned. In the moment, he felt like a pawn, like he lived a lie so intricately told that it's fabrication was hard to grasp. He didn't know that she had forfeited the game when they said 'I do' nor did he know that when he would try to go back to Snow, it would be that forced relationship that felt like a lie, like the fabrication.

He stood in front of her door, hesitant to knock or even make a move towards going in. His fist lightly rapped against the white wood and there was silence in return. She had been asleep for hours and if he recalled correctly, the only thing she had that day was coffee. And that was before she got sick, so it was plausible to say that she hadn't eaten anything and the afternoon was coming to a close.

Without a response, he assumed that she was asleep and decided to save their conversation for another time, she'd probably want to be well rested to hear what he had to say. With Charlotte conked out, he was free to prepare a small tray for her to wake up to, she would probably want something small since her nausea usually lingered. Almonds, he remembered that they settled her stomach and she usually snacked on them throughout the day. Craisins, not cranberries, not raisins but craisins; he hadn't forgotten that since getting hit in the head with a pack of cranberries and a box of raisins. Her aim had probably improved and he'd rather not take the chance. Ginger tea, a remedy Granny suggested with the last pregnancy. Grabbing a loose paper, he penned a sloppy note in his adolescent hand writing.

_If you want anything else, I can ask Ruby to bring over that salad you like. Fetta pomegranate or whatever, just call my phone so you don't have to yell or get up. I'm downstairs._

He thought nothing of the note, thinking it considerate rather than something strictly related to their relationship. He wanted her to rest and that was the bottom line. Taking the tray upstairs, he balanced it on one hand as he turned the knob and opened the door slowly. It creaked in response and he cringed as he walked on his tippy toes, trying his best not to spill her tea. When he was successful, he set the small tray on her end table and couldn't help the glance that he took.

He couldn't feel anything negative towards her, he could see none of her past, none of their past. He just saw Regina, as she stirred lying on her side he just saw Regina and it became even more clear that the woman he hurt was Regina not some evil persona.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and she turned in her sleep, obviously disturbed. Hastily, he reached in his pocket to see that a photo was coming in from Emma in a text message. Keeping one eye on his phone and one eye on Regina, his flip phone was taking forever to load.

"Stay..."

It was small but audible, something that stopped him in his tracks and paused all other thoughts. Her arm sleepily rubbed at the empty spot across from her and he was stuck, glued to the floor as she sleepily gave him the invitation to be there for her that he had been wanting, the privilege that had been revoked. But did she mean it?

Before he could even process that, the waiting was over and a photo of a fax came through. He squinted, zooming in on the center of the document so that he could see the contents.

**Storybrooke General Hospital**

**Dr. Warren**

**VICTIM # 024083492442**

_Sample 1: Evidence # 004; Code Match 459930_

_Sample 2: DNA o/ Victim # 024083492442_ **MATCH **_of Sample # 004_

_Requested by_ **EMMA SWAN**

_Requested by _S**IDNEY GLASS**

**TBC**


	13. Improvement

_Quick update! :) After this, the pace will pick up seeing as we've had more than enough chaps dedicated to one day but it does make up for the gap between the other chaps. Before you read, I'd just like to offer some insight on things. These two were married for five years, conceived two babies together and loved each other more with each passing day and that doesn't go away easily. He is trying to make his way back to her and she is afraid to let him in, she is afraid that he will leave again, that he will hurt her again but even with fear, she can fall weak to him. There are holes in their relationship but she loves him and he loves her and they have an uphill battle ahead of them. Please enjoy and a special thanks to all those who take the time to review because it truly, truly does mean the world to me! All typos will be corrected, hopefully, tonight or tomorrow morning :)_

_**-iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

"What does this mean?" It was a whisper that he tried to suppress, turning away from the sleeping form on the bed. He walked towards the window, running a hand through his hair and he listened to the heavy breathing on the other end, muffled sounds hovering in the distance. "Emma?" She was unresponsive, but she was still there, she was still listening to him. "Emma, what does this mean?!"

"She's dead David! She's DEAD!" When her yells hit his ear, the phone dropped from his grasp and fell to the floor. It made no difference as both hands lifted to go through his hair, to rake over his face. His body gave way to the shock he felt and he could do nothing but turn around, only taking a few steps before his body couldn't take him anywhere.

He looked through watery eyes to see that she was still asleep, that she was still peaceful but he couldn't act on her words now. Snow was dead but he knew that she didn't do it, within the depths of himself he knew that she didn't do it but Snow was dead. Snow was dead. Snow was gone. Snow was dead. Snow was gone. Snow was gone. Snow was gone. Snow was gone.

Snow was dead.

Repeating it in his head did nothing to add to the reality, only acting to stomp on his emotions and kill his will to walk on. But he couldn't stay in that room, he couldn't mourn for her in a room consecrated for another purpose with another woman. The passion was gone, the intensity was gone but he still cared for her, he still loved her. And this news, this is what broke him.

The curse was close to breaking.

She was broken

And David, he was broken as well.

Discarding his deeds, he was a man in mourning, torn inside by the happenings of the day. He reached the door and closed it without care for the noise, barely cognizant of his thoughts let alone his actions. He could no longer feel her but then again, he hadn't felt her for a while now. With every step, he cursed himself for hurting her, he cursed himself for leaving her and letting her die. He couldn't help but feel that if things had been different than she would be alive, she would be well, she would be breathing. They might not be together but at least she would have the chance to be happy.

But she was dead and Ruby was right, it was his fault. If he had waited, if he just tried to think things through and not immediately go back to Snow, maybe things would be different. He just felt so guilty for enjoying his time with Regina, for missing her, that he ran even quicker to Snow, to attain some of his old life. He hadn't realize that he will always have his old life but in the present, there were a new set of circumstances.

Circumstances that he failed to accommodate. Circumstances that he allowed to cripple him, to change him, to break him. Under these circumstances, he became the type of man to string two women along. He became the type of man to accuse his wife of abusing his children. He became the type of man to leave without notice. He became the type of man that hurt the people he loved when they had hurt him. He became a man that could no longer look in the mirror.

And now Snow was dead.

She knew that her door had closed since the noise had been made as she was transitioning from a deep sleep to practically waking up. Taking a moment, to sink into her sheets,she glanced over at the open side next to her and couldn't help but feel that something had occurred connected to it while she slept. It was different, still in the same shape; untouched and all, but it was different, only slightly ruffled by what she could only assume was her own hand.

The faint noise in the distance was something that caught her ear but she didn't move, still feeling the weight of her body. A few hours of sleep were drops in the bucket of exhaustion that she suffered from but as the noise persisted, she grew even the more curious. And then it stopped, abruptly and suddenly.

It could be an intruder but David was in the house, he had to be. Her door had just closed and he wouldn't leave Charlotte alone. Unless Charlotte was asleep and him closing the door was to avoid her hearing the front door shut. Debating with herself to care or not care, to check or not check, her interest won out and she found herself lifting from the bed with due effort. It felt as though she hadn't slept at all but she wouldn't show it. Maybe her steps were slower and her posture found comfort in something to lean on but her face would never tell the troubles of her body.

She peeked in on Charlotte, smiling to see that her little girl was asleep in her bed for a nap that she would soon be up from. After doing that, she sought out the noise and guessed that it came from downstairs so she advanced in that direction. There was a stillness in the air, something to be weary of, something that she was weary of. And when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she knew why.

_"Where is Charlotte?" Her mouth opened but she didn't say anything, only sniffling in response. He got up from the table silently, his only show of violence being the slam of his chair against the table as he 'slid' it forward. She jumped as it clanked against the floor, hesitating before she followed quickly behind him, making the sudden move to grab his arm._

_The ferocity in which he pulled away should not have shocked her, nor should the hatred in his eyes but the little imp was right-She had fallen in and now she was feeling everything. He pointed a finger at her, eyes wide and face red. "You-I am not going to hurt you- I don't want to hurt you because you are carrying my child but so help me Regina-don't push me."_

_End of Flashback_

_She stepped back at his words, feeling as though he might as well have slapped her. It would've been an easier blow to take. He turned away from her, his only show of anger being the cursed yell he let out as he ascended the stairs and his fist jutted out suddenly, punching a hole in a wall that they had painted together. Seconds passed, minutes passed and what could be transpiring filled her mind. She wanted to act but she was glued to her spot, only daring to move when she saw him once again with a sleeping toddler hanging on his shoulder._

She had asked Gus to plaster over the hole and he complied, giving him something to do as they feigned his working on the house to appease the nosy townspeople. The spot was plastered and painted over when the young man left and now that she looked at it, the hole was back and lightly smeared with crimson stains. It was a haunting sight, to see the damage on the wall and the damaged man bent over on the bottom of the staircase.

If she turned back now, he wouldn't know that she saw him, that she heard him. If she turned back now, she could go back to sleep and wake up as if she had seen nothing and he would think that she saw nothing. If she turned back now, she would leave him injured and in tears; it was hard to tell but she knew, she always knew when he was truly hurting.

She could feel it.

And the tug on her heart is what made her stay. The tables were turned and she ended up being the one to go to him, to stay with him. She stopped three steps above him and he turned slightly, sniffling at her presence. He seemed to double take, almost flinching at the woman that stood behind him. He didn't feel like he deserved her standing behind him when he failed to do so with her. But she was there for a reason, her face was unmoving and emotionless, not that she didn't care but she wasn't aware of the situation. His back was hunched as the tears slipped down his nose. He looked up at her with red stained eyes and a bloodied t-shirt, clutching his red hand to his stomach.

Pushing himself up from the steps, he stood on the foyer floor, legs hitting the wooden steps as he stared ahead, attempting to keep the little composure he had left. She looked at him, her head tilting to the side as the tears fell from his face and he wept before her, bringing an involuntary shine to her own eyes.

_"The evidence is piling up." The conflict is clear in his voice and he musters the nerve to look in her eyes, to meet her brown for blue. Despite everything that had transpired between them, the hate that bubbles beneath the love and the love that is shaded by the hate, her eyes are sincere. He can't deny that._

_"What evidence?" What could have caused the shift in the atmosphere, the tears in his eyes?_

_He exhaled shakily, leaning into the table so that his hands could gather atop of them, inches from hers that laid flat against the wood. "We found a heart..." It's beginning to eat at him that he can't tell if she's hurt or not, that he can't tell if she's alive or dead. When she fell into the sleeping curse, he knew, he felt her slip from the grasps of his heart and now-he felt nothing. He would trust the lack of feeling as knowing that she was alright if he didn't know that the love he had for another might be clouding their love that had faded. "Regina if you need to tell me anything, tell me now before things get out of hand."_

_At his request, the slim fingers that were inches from him began to recede away from his presence, seemingly burned by his words. She met him eye for eye and tear for tear and she smiles. She smiles because the little sliver of trust she had placed in him was barely finished forming before he stomped on it._

_"You know, for a second, I almost thought you believed in me." Not that he believed that she was telling the truth, but that he believed she wouldn't do something like this._

_Not now._

_"Regina that's not fair," he cleared his throat, "...What am I supposed to think when there's a heart sitting in a lab waiting to be tested!?"_

She was able to put two and two together. He knew she didn't do it, it was clear in his eyes, but another fact was clear as well.

Snow was dead.

She took a step down without leaving his eyes so that she was still above his height but she could reach him. Her hand touched the back of his neck and he fell into her, cleaving to her body when she pulled him to her and restored his privileges. There was nothing sexual about their contact, nothing lustful in him sobbing into her chest and the gentle stroking of his hair to soothe him. He had lost a loved one, he had lost someone that was supposed to be his true love.

Her reaction said more about her than any of the words she had spoken before, any of the times she had claimed that she was not who she used to be, that she had changed. The sullen brunette did not rejoice at the news, but rather, she shed a few tears as well because regardless of their past, a life was lost that could have been spared and because of that, David was hurting.

And the soul ties that they had wished away, that they sometimes regreeted refused to allow him to hurt without her hurting as well. So her head fell against his as he cried, soaking her pajama top, for the memories, for the loss, for the pain. Together they wept, pain for pain, loss for loss, memory for memory.

When her tears were long dried and his continued to fall, she still held him. She stroked his cheek until his body stopped shaking and her hand was no longer dampened by his tears. After a while, neither of them took mind of his head against her chest, of her hands on his face. For a moment, they were just David and Regina, two people that married for a love so rare that they knew they'd never find anything else like it. There was no curse, there was no magic and there was no pain.

Only for a moment.

Her hands gently cupped his cheek and lifted his head so that the weight of it was felt against her palm. Silently, her hands left his face and he immediately missed the contact, only gaining some back when her fingers grazed lightly against his skin. She took another step down and pulled at his stained shirt. He lifted his arms limply and she was patient with him, taking the material little by little until it reach his hands and she paid special attention to not touch his knuckles.

Uncaring of the mess, she balled his soiled shirt in her hand and led him up the stairs with the other. He was practically lifeless, too heartbroken to lift up his head. He just followed by the lead of her hand until they entered their bedroom an she disappeared into the closet, leaving him in the middle of the room. His hand was cold for a moment, without contact or warmth from another person. He was feeling it in his hand now but he wondered if it was how Regina felt, when he left was her whole body cold? Did he leave her feeling empty?

She reappeared seconds later and took his hand once more, not minding the lost look on his face. She led him into the bathroom and he had enough cognizance to sit on the edge of the tub as she bent to reach the bottom of the sink. He noticed he difficulty she had doing so but he seemed to be moving in slow motion and she had what she sought before he had a chance to offer her any help. She set the first-aid kit on the counter and reached for his hand, hesitantly extending it towards herself. As she inspected the damage, his words were soft and the emotion was clear in his voice.

"I feel relieved."

She paused her movements and balanced his hand in her palm, looking up to meet his eyes as they watered. It was more than just being in mourning, he felt guilty. The woman he was supposed to love was gone and her absence had relieved him of his attachment to her. He was attempting to be with her out of obligation and with her gone, those obligations were null and void. And he hated himself for seeing the positive in a tragedy so quickly. There shouldn't be a light at the end of this tunnel, this never ending tunnel.

But there was.

And he hated himself for it.

She shook her mind of any thoughts and concentrated on his wounds, deflecting from what he had just confessed. Looking at the alcohol and the peroxide, she knew that it would sting and despite being the manly man that he was, without anger as a cushion, such pain as she was about to inflict caused a backlash that she didn't want to deal with.

"Are there any stains on my shirt?" She asked cooly, soaking a bandage in the cleaning substances, He looked at the material, hoping that none of his blood had got on her. Seeing a small mark above her navel area, he forgot any invisible boundaries just as she had expected him to and reached for stomach, wordlessly thumbing at the small red spot on her silk pajamas. Beneath his touch, he felt a flutter and she pressed the alcohol to his wounds but he didn't even flinch, too enamored with the movement under his hand.

He didn't smile or grin, nor was he beaming with fatherly pride. He just held his good hand to her abdomen, allowing the bricks to fall on him once more. He would never get back the time he missed, the memories that could have been made or the love they could have shared rather than the fights they had and the energy they wasted. Once his wound was cleaned, she wrapped the bandage around his hand so that it covered him from palm to knuckle.

She was done, letting go of his hand until she just stood silently as he felt the son that he hadn't felt before, as he experienced something that he could have experienced before if they weren't so embroiled in anger. She offered him a tight smile, not allowing herself to get wrapped up in a moment that could be so much more than it was. That was their problem now; life gave them an inch and they took a mile.

"I'm sorry."

The other woman he should be apologizing to was gone, so he spoke to the one in front of him before it was too late. He was sorry for coming back just to leave, he was sorry for leaving in the first place, he was sorry for the accusations and the words he couldn't take back. She had apologized countless times, sought his forgiveness countless times and now, he couldn't look into her eyes without doing the same.

His hand remained on her stomach and she was stuck, nearly shaking with what she was presented with. To throw away the anger and pain was unprecedented but to not feel some sort of gratification for his actions and for his words was unreal.

"You need a new shirt." She walked away and his hand slipped down to his thigh, leaving him on the side of the tub confused and alone. He felt at peace, surprisingly. His heart ached for the loss but it was lighter without the tug of war from side to side, from life to life, from love to love. There was a sense of peace.

He stood on his own two feet and left the bathroom, padding around the floor barefoot as he walked into the closet. She turned around, pausing in her movements when he appeared in front of her, somber and upset.

_He stood in front of their bed, head down and bare of back. She lifted a brow as she laid down and he shrugged as if his face didn't scream the disappointment he felt but refused to voice. She rolled her eyes and patted the bed for him to join her._

_"I can't believe they lost." He shook his head and laid on top of the covers, discarding his shoes at the same time. "It's my lucky jersey, I didn't have my lucky jersey." All he could remember was the look on Graham's face when he had to fork up fifty bucks from their bet._

_She slid down under the covers with her tissue box and he eyed her suspiciously, "...Regina," he drawled, not trusting the look on her face as she averted his eyes. A soft navy blue material peaked out from the covers and he peeled them back hurriedly, agape at what he saw. "Thief!"_

_"Henry threw up on all my pajamas," she exclaimed, reaching for the covers as a chill passed by. "And I can't breathe through my nose and the stupid thing makes me feel better!" Her head fell back against the pillow as he sat up, giving her a glaring look._

_But of course, she was the master of stares and guises so the puppy dog look he was getting melted his heart in no time. "Tell me next time.." He coaxed, pulling the covers back up to her as she snuggled closer to his chest, seeking his warmth. "It looks better on you anyway."_

The steps she took were slow and reticent, fingers gathered around a gray material that she lifted over his hand, gently pulling it to his neck. The cotton gathered around muscles that flexed to look at her, to watch the confliction on her face.

He pushed his arms through and a tear escaped her, the first he'd seen. The shirt fell down his torso and his face neared hers, an unexpected development that she wasn't expecting. He kissed the wet trail that ran down her face, for the pain, for the loss and for the memories. He pressed his lips against her other cheek, softly lingering on her skin until she let out a shuddering breath that left more tears for him to kiss away.

This was his Regina, the vulnerable, gentle and sometimes broken Regina. She loved hard to a fault and when she trusted you, it was a rare occurrence. Her head turned away from him because she had promised herself that she would not cry another tear, not over him and not over their relationship. But just as he mourned, she was in mourning as well.

For a future that had so much potential for love, for happiness.

They were both broken, tears slipping down their fallen masks. They could not hide from each other, stripped of any pretenses and left barren before the other. She met his eyes and he could tell that she was weary, that she was afraid; the pain had been too great to endure.

The tears constricted his throat and he spoke, "You need a new shirt," his voice wavering with every word. He reached besides him and retracted with a worn blue material, patterned with logos and red signs. The shirt hung on his shoulder as his hands reached for her buttons, undoing them one by one, touch by touch. Their eyes never left the others' and he grazed against her skin to remove a shirt for a single small stain; but it was reason enough for him to do so.

There was anxiety there, tension, sadness, yearning for the other. He pulled the material gently over her head, smoothing her hair down with the palm of his hand when the shirt gathered around her neck. He pulled it down further and her arms pushed through, allowing the jersey to fall shorter than usual. PATRIOTS ran across her chest and she looked down, a memory sodden jersey atop her silk bottoms.

"It doesn't match." He offered her a smile that was met with a tear and a shrug. To him it was perfect; it would make her feel better.

The doorbell sounded downstairs and neither of them moved, unaffected by the persistent person downstairs. His hand met her waist and for the first time, she stiffened. The lack of trust became evident when her head dipped to avoid him, to avoid the intimacy that she had already fell into. An extra party would have expected him to kiss her, to seal the moment with locked lips and feverish hands. But that's not who they were, that's not what they were based on.

He embraced her

He wrapped his arms around her and covered her head with his hand. She hadn't felt safe, she hadn't felt warm, she hadn't felt loved and he was there to restore what he had taken for her. Her eyes fell closed and she stopped fighting him, she stopped fighting him and she allowed herself to let go. There was no vengeance, there was only forgiveness; a prospect that had long seemed too far to hope for. For the first time in a long time, their relationship felt unconditional.

Their love, it was unconditional.

There was a faint sound in the distance that gave them both pause; the front door opening. He took hold of her shoulders and stepped back, looking in her wide eyes with a whisper, "Stay here." She nodded quickly, a bit disconnected at the abrupt ending to their reconciliation. Someone had obviously broken into their home before and placed a threat against two of the most important people in his life.

He closed the bedroom door behind him and moved towards the stairway, making his presence known to the intruder. He stopped at the bottom of the staircase, near the hole that he had inflicted upon the wall and stopped when he saw the blonde ponytail swing around.

"Emma?" She raised her weapon in his direction and he lifted his hands, eyeing her bloodshot eyes. "Emma I'm not armed." The blonde was unmoving and he came closer, strengthening his voice. "Lower your weapon." She did so slowly, shaking with her anger until he spoke again, "Drop it."

She shook her head, keeping the gun beside her side. "I don't trust you." Her mouth fell into a thin line and he extended his hand, reaching for the weapon that he had issued to her.

He faltered, not expecting her to feel like that. Of course, he knew that they were on rocky terms but he had never given her the impression that he wasn't behind her, that he didn't have her back. "Emma, I would never hurt you."

"Are you aligned with her? Did you help her do this?"

"Emma, Regina didn't-"

"She killed my mother." Her voice broke involuntarily and she stuck her weapon in it's holster. She had never gotten the chance to call her mother, her mother. As soon as she'd gotten the parents that she had wanted her whole life, they were taken from her, ripped like a mat from her feet so that she fell to the ground, shaken and unprepared. Regina was right, she had no tears left to cry.

Just anger.

She moved towards the staircase but he blocked her access. "Emma, I can't...I can't let you do that." He reached out once more, regretting what he had to do. "You're too close to this case."

"We're all too-" She began to repeat what he had said but he reached for her badge on the side of her hip before she had a chance to step away from him.

"What the hell, David?"

"Take a few days off, deal with the news...I'll handle it from this point."

She gripped her holster securely, not letting it go that easily. "Fuck you if ya really think I'm just going to sit on my ass while you shack up with the witch that killed my mom, the woman that was supposed to be your wife but you were too busy thinking with your dick to do anything about it." She stepped back with filled eyes, exhaling shakily before biting down on her bottom lip. Her hand unclipped the gun and let it clank to the floor, bullets sprawling from the impact. "

"Emma-"

"Don't.." She silenced him, sticking her hands in the tight pockets of her jeans. "You've made your choice," she reached for the knob, "You chose them." And with that, she left, slamming the door behind her. David exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he bent down to pick up the gun and it's discarded bullets, knowing that this was not the end.

He was actively mourning Snow but she was too angry to see it, he didn't see the pain in his eyes or the cried tears on his face; her anger was understandable. Of course, he wanted nothing more than to be a father to her as weird as it would seem at first but she thought that he had chosen another family over them. Regina and Charlotte, perhaps? He didn't compare his daughters and loved them both but there was too much turmoil to see clearly.

The haze would remain and he expected her to be angry, for a while.

In the meantime, he needed to find out who was framing Regina and who killed his wife, who added to the mess that they already had. Without the proper information, they were left in a puddle of opinions, lies and facts that they couldn't sort through. The town would begin to fall apart, people would fear for their lives if they thought that there was a murderer running around cutting hearts out hearts and the Sheriff's department hadn't done anything. This was the work of more than one man; it was too intricate to be one man.

They needed answers.

Once the mess was collected, he stashed the gun in his safe and closed the office door behind him before running upstairs to tell Regina that the coast was clear. Going to the bedroom, he found that it was empty. He checked the closet; empty. He checked the bathroom; empty. Part of him wanted to panic but the other part was settled, telling him to check the other rooms. Though she was bold, she wouldn't risk her safety for her pride, not now.

He found her in Charlotte's room, holding the toddler in her arms. She was lightly brushing the bangs from her face as the little girl wiped at her eyes sleepily, coming out of her nap. Regina looked up to see him standing in the doorway and she searched his eyes for confirmation of their safety, that everything was okay. He nodded and walked over to them, peeking in at his little Charlie horse as she cuddled into her mother's side, still wracked with slumber.

Did he make a choice that he wasn't aware of? Was he incapable of being there for both of his families, for all of his children? Had he failed as a father?

She saw the turmoil in his eyes and offered Charlotte to him, inching her small frame in his direction. He took her eagerly, needing to hold his child, to know that he hadn't lost them both and he hadn't completely failed. Down on one knee, he balanced her on his leg to wake her up while rubbing soothing circles on her back as she came to. With a glance, he found brown eyes looking at him reluctantly but they weren't Charlotte's

Her eyes wore all the fear in her heart, the uneasiness. She wondered what they were doing, what did this mean, how would they get through things, how would they go on? She wondered if they had a future or she was just fooling herself to sleep at night. She wondered if he had regret for his actions, if the bits and pieces of what she heard had changed his mind.

He kissed her cheek.

They had a lot to talk about and a lot of issues to work out. They had problems to solve and curses to break, people to mourn and people to carry. There were a lot of things that were unknown, unable to be deciphered; but one thing was clear.

They were making progress.

But they knew that with them, nothing seemed to last long enough; it was always for a moment.


	14. Inferno

_Okay, so this is a reallllllly long chapter for many reasons; it was just too good to break up lol, it was a longer than usual wait and school is starting in a few days so updates won't be as frequent anyway. With that being said, updates will probably be as frequent as once a week, if that, since my schedule is BOUND to be hectic. I will try to keep up and I know that there are ppl that will be pouncing on me if I don't ;) Enjoy it while you can :) Thanks to P-A and GG for their help and support.__ BTW, visuals for this chap will later be posted on tumblr for clarity and representation for those who read ff like they watch tv lol Oh P.S. Typos are fixed tomorrow, since it is early and this is a really long chap lol lemme know of any major ones, otherwise, I'll catch em when I reread tomorrow_

_**-iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

It's a new day; a new day to mourn and a new day to move on, to forgive and to forget. With death in place, it is easy to fill the void with old routines, to go back to the way things were to avoid how things currently are. A heart no longer beats and you try your damnedest not to forget but also, your hardest to live your life.

There's tension between him and her, unresolved issues and old arguments still rolling beneath the surface but in the short term, it's easier to ignore than to deal. It's easier for him to sleep on the couch rather than to explain to Charlotte why he has to sleep at Granny's. It's easier to kiss his wife on the cheek then look into her eyes and face the pain he's caused. But of course, sometimes when things are easier in the in the moment, they're harder in the long run.

Two days have passed and they haven't left the house. All incidents are reported to David's personal phone rather than the Sheriff's all-call line, but nothing has required his active assistance. With Mrs. Truman temporarily running the town and Regina still acting as though someone wasn't there to do the work, they had fallen into a routine of sorts, of past.

At times it is awkward, it gets tense but it's all they have to work with, unable to push past the happenings of the past months as if they had meant nothing. But they've kept their distance, really only seeing each other in passing as if they weren't cohabiting together. Silently, they leaned on one another. Words had been their downfall as of late so their interaction had been reduced to small gestures, acts of kindness and love that didn't require much to be said.

It was difficult to understand really but that's only if you were only on the outside looking in. The wordless dropping off of coffee, giving the other tidbits on the case to crack the secrets, sitting in silence when another phone call comes in. First it was Ruby, hysterical over the death of her best friend, livid at their supposed involvement and resentful of her broken trust. A voice mail from Albert Spencer about when an arrest was going to be made; A call from Mother Superior about a memorial service and her knowledge of their trysts.

In the midst of madness, he had found himself to be occupied with a project of his own, something to keep his mind off things and hopefully lift Regina's spirits about the pregnancy. Despite the stress and drama, it was supposed to be a joyous time yet all he seemed to see her experience was pain and sadness. It had been a difficult road physically and he saw the toll it took on her, and he wanted nothing more than to relieve her stress; but they weren't there yet. He was doing the most he could do, and it would be a surprise when she saw it.

So yes, he had been secretive about it, going so far as to lock the door when he leaves so that her access is revoked. With one last look at his progress, he closed the door behind him, knowing that it was secure when the lock clicked in place.

"Why'd you lock the door?"

She hadn't said anything about it, she hadn't noticed it...but she notices everything. He looked at her with wide eyes while the rest of his body responded coolly, acting as though it was completely normal; however, his face didn't seem to get the memo.

"Why are you," He drawled out his question as she neared him with an arched eyebrow and suspicion leering in her stare. He narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down, noting the blazer, dress and heels; "...so dressed up?"

She started to walk around him but he side-stepped her, blocking her entry, to which she straightened her shoulders and threw her head back as if she were addressing a court. "I need to get something, if you don't mind."

"What do you need out of an empty room?" Her eyes narrowed to meet his eyes and they stared at each other, neither of them looking to back down. She stalked closer, invading his personal space until the point of her heel met his boot. He lifted his chin and stared down at her, hiding a discreet smile when she bent into his chest briefly.

Her eyes flicked up at him with her nose mere centimeters from his body, "You smell like paint," she spoke softly.

He shrugged and she took slow steps backwards, eyeing him carefully. Part of her wanted to know what was up his sleeve but the other part, the part that won out, decided that if it occupied his time and kept him from punching more holes in their walls then he should have at it.

"Anyway, Charlotte's waiting for me downstairs, she wanted to make turnovers..."Her tone was off, balancing a thread between monotony and uncomfortableness; his theory was confirmed when his eyes met hers and she immediately bounced her own brown orbs to the doors around them.

"Yum..." He enthused awkwardly, trying not to seem too happy even though they truly were his favorite dessert.

"So..." She looked around, linking her hands behind her back as they stood in front of each other.

"So..." He chuckled awkwardly, finding humor in the moments where they could find nothing to do but look everywhere but each other. Their thoughts were roaming, their wants were clear and their needs were apparent. But they just stood.

"MOMMY, C'MON!" The ravaged yell was heard all the way upstairs and both parents cringed at their temper magnet toddler, impatient like her mother and a yeller like her father.

"I guess you're going to go make some turnovers." He chuckled lightly, earning a sheepish but rare smile from her; one that had her quickly turning around so that he was unaware of how long her smile really did last.

He waited for her to disappear around the bend and crept across the floor to make sure that she had descended the stairs before digging the color swatches out of his back pocket, flipping through them cursively before checking his phone. _0 messages, _with no one to complain and no one in trouble he was free to head back to the office to check his pager just to be sure.

It was hard to work on the case but he spent as much time as his heart would let him burning the midnight oil to crack the codes that he seemed to be missing. Something was off but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Going down the stairs, he stuck both his phone and the swatches back in his pocket before walking into the office to come face to face with sneakers and a book bag.

"What the..." He mumbled, watching as the boy he had been a father to for five years climbed through the office window as if he had done it too many times to count. "Henry?"

The ten year old jumped, turning around only to back into the wall. "Wha-What are you doing here?"

"I think the real question is, what are _you _doing here?" David crouched down in front of him, pulling at his slacks as he gauged the boy's emotions, watching as seemed too tense for comfort.

"I want to talk to Regina." He jutted out his chin, putting up his bravado just as his mother would.

"Henry she's your mother-"

"Emma's my mom now!" The young boy spoke up, eyes already filling. "SHE-" he pointed to open door as if she was standing there, "murdered Mary Margaret! and she needs to confess so that you and Emma can find her body..." He looked away just as his mother had minutes before, averting his eyes as a tear escaped him with the thought of his deceased teacher.

On the inside, David was raging. A ten year old shouldn't know anything about the case, let alone that his mother was a suspect or they couldn't find a body. "Henry, your mom didn't do this.."

"You believe her?!" He scratched at the back of his head, allowing the bag on his shoulders to slide down. "C'mon, David-We gotta get Charlotte outta here, YOU gotta get out of here-Before you guys are next-"

"Hey!" He took Henry by the shoulders, looking at him sternly without any hesitation. "You don't talk about your mother that way-"

"She's a murderer-"

"She is NOT a murderer and you're not going to go talk to her if all you're going to do is accuse her of something she didn't do and upset her."

"What do you care?!" He was silent, wordlessly giving the boy exactly what he didn't want to know. The disbelief in the boy's eyes were impalpable as he back away, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. "Do you still love her?"

David shook his head, not wanting to go there with a child still in elementary school. "Henry-"

"She's gonna hurt you, " he slid the straps back on his shoulder, "...the evil queen hurts everyone that's close to her." When David was unmoving in his resolve, Henry huffed and shook his head, climbing back out the window before the Sheriff could protest. His sneakers hit the grass and he was off running in the opposite direction before anyone could catch up with him.

Conflicted, David could do no more than run a hand down his face as another stack seemed to fall on him. They were much closer before he remembered, before the curse began to unravel. After his off-centered suggestions that he should be with Mary Margaret, their relationship was strained but not as strained as him and his mothers. But that's just it, she was his mother and despite what she's done, she loves him and actively seeks forgiveness. Had he not seen that part of her, had he not looked passed her being the Evil Queen and seen her as his wife, as Regina, then they wouldn't be in the place where they currently were.

Things were the farthest thing from perfect, they were still hurting, they were still angry and betrayal lingered in the depths of their heart but they saw the other as a person, not a persona from a book. They became people seeking to heal, to understand, people wishing life back to the way it used to be.

With a glance at the desk that both him and Regina were using, their stacks somewhat intertwined, something he knew he'd catch hell for later, his pager was nowhere to be seen. With a drawn out sigh, he trotted out of the office with hopes that Charlotte hadn't once again absconded with his pager so that it could be Barbie's new television.

He never made it to the kitchen, stopped in his tracks by the black and red form siting in the living room. She and Charlotte were supposed to be making turnovers but there she sat, thumbing at the material on her apron. He was hesitant in his movements, pausing on the tip of his toes as he turned to walk into a room guarded by her emotions. She obviously felt safe there, sitting in a thick silence, undisturbed and unmoving. She chose that place to set a somber tone, for something he didn't know of. Walking in might take away that sanctuary, that feeling of safety.

She was fine moments ago, sniffing his shirt for traces of any activity that she was not privy of. She even seemed, if he dared to think, happy. She smiled at him, and it was short lived but it was a smile. And now she sat in silence, tracing a crease in her apron. He bit the bullet and walked in front of her, getting the message when he was not acknowledged even by a fractional movement, her finger steadily just moving across the material.

She had heard him. Knowing Charlotte, he guessed that she forgot her bear that she claimed to be an experienced cook and went in search of him. Following behind her, she must've come across their voices in the office and heard their discussion.

At first he sat on the other end of the couch, giving her the warranted space of their predicament. "You told me that he hated me but I didn't want to believe it." The first words that she spoke were small and detached; it showed her attempt to distance herself, to not fall into what was familiar. "I knew it was true but I," she shrugged, holding back the tears that pooled in her eyes, "I didn't want to believe it."

He couldn't tell her that he didn't mean it because in the moment he did, he wanted her to feel the burn of her betrayal, of their separation. He wanted to ensure that every part of him that ached, ached within her as well. What he didn't expect was for his pain to be soothed and hers to be just beginning. The price of passing the buck on your own emotions, your own anger; those that suffer with you, suffer differently.

"I really," she turned to look at him, hesitant with the fear that he may not understand, that he may turn away, "I really messed up, didn't I?" The curse had cost her more than the plight of happiness, but it cost her Henry. With the back and forth between her and David, there seemed to be no room for anyone else to get between them, to get in the midst of the drama but alas, Henry was. He was hurting beyond what any of them knew. With a warped sense of good and evil, family divided on either sides, his confusion was natural and the anger was somewhat warranted. "You were right."

It wasn't something that he wanted to be victorious at, correctly guessing the rift between mother and son; a son that effortlessly clung to his mother at every chance, that was her shadow. When she moved, he moved and the love between them was clear. Now to see such strife dissolving a once inseparable bond did more to him than he wanted to admit, and it was not a dissolution that he wished to dance about.

He couldn't just say that he doesn't hate her, that they were mother and son, through which no bond can't be totally broken. Those were words that she had heard before, and believed before, before he went back on everything and told her how he felt, when he allowed his anger to speak for him. Before, she trusted him to comfort her and now, now his silence was more appreciated.

The only apology that he could offer, that she could accept, was the slipping of his hand beneath hers. Palm to palm, match for match; more was said than words could have spoken.

X

Since their near wordless encounter, David had stowed away in the study while Regina kept Charlotte occupied with baking and sorts, knowing that her little girl loved to make pastries and lick the spoon or the bowl. Most times, her request to do so was met with a chuckle and a 'no' with a sidenote that it was terribly unsanitary but today, Charlotte got the spoon and happily helped her mother make her coveted turnovers.

Wearing her special apron, Charlotte watches in amazement as the pastry rises by the slightest fraction in the oven and squeals with joy when the timer dings on the oven. Cautioning her about the heat, Regina sets the pan down on the stovetop and fans a delicate hand over them in habit before shutting the oven.

Charlotte turned to her mother, feeling a sense of accomplishment for having been a helping hand. "Now we wait." Charlotte repeated what her mother usually said, beating her to the punch but ultimately widening the brunette's smile.

"Yes," she flicked her daughter's nose playfully, "..we wait."

She adjusted the bow on the side of Charlotte's head and the toddler gushed with big eyes before pointing to the counter before asking, "Can I sit up there?"

Regina scrunched her brows, pondering the request as Charlotte bounded over to the high counter with a smile. "Daddy lets me sit here and wait."

As much as she wanted to say no, with an achy back and a fear that Charlotte may hurt herself, she caved and bent to pick her up to lift her onto the counter but was stopped midair by a booming voice that startled both dark haired ravens.

"Regina, what are you doing?" Warding off the irritation she wanted to feel because of his tone, she turned to find him looking at her with furrowed brows and a stack of paper that he promptly dropped on the counter, opposite their position.

"Daddy, shhh." Charlotte pressed a hand to her mouth, hating when he raised his voice.

He hadn't intended to, it was just a knee jerk reaction to what he saw. "I'm sorry Charlie horse but Mommy," he walked around the bend to where Regina stood, eyeing him closely, "..shouldn't be," he bent down and put her on the counter, "lifting you."

"But why, Daddy?" She questioned, earning lifted brows from both brunette women in his life.

"Um, well, because the baby doesn't like it. And when he gets here, you don't want him to be upset do you?" Charlotte shook her head and Regina arched a brow, to which he smirked with the knowledge that he was handling it somewhat well.

"Does that mean I shouldn't lift stuff either? I don't want my baby to be upset..." She peered down at her flat, apron covered stomach and Regina snickered, turning her head so that she couldn't see her laugh.

"Charlotte sweetie..." His voice pitched, unprepared for her question as he shot a glare at his chuckling wife. "I told you there's no baby in there.."

"Well, how come mommy gets a baby and I don't?" David's mouth flapped open and he looked to Regina who turned her back and made her way to the apple turnovers.

"I think these are ready. Charlotte sweetie, why don't you go washup and get Mr. Bear so he can have the special one we made for him?" With some assistance from her father, she jumped from the counter and ran off in her little apron to leave her parents alone.

With a smile, he made his way over to her and moved to break a piece off of one of the turnovers, a gesture that earned him a quick slap to the hand. He hissed, leaning on the counter as she fanned over them with a square cloth.

"I thought you said they were ready..." He whined slightly, feeling his stomach grumble.

She reached for a knife from one of her drawers and began to cut a small piece from the one he reached for. "It was a small fib, told to get you out of the hot seat with a toddler." She popped the piece in her mouth and he stood agape with a smirk. "Don't want the baby to be upset."

"Glad to see you're feeling better..." He joked and watched as her chewing slowed and she remembered just what had brought her into a state warranting her to 'feel better'. He noticed the effect of his words and fell silent, his smile fading as hers did.

For a moment, they forgot; forgot everything. Nothing mattered and it was just three of them in that big house with nothing to do but read papers and bake apple turnovers. Reality was a cold harsh slap in the face that brought silence between them and cooled the pastries in front of them.

"What's this?" She deflected, looking at the stack of papers that he had set aside.

He walked up behind her as she took a glance at them, shrugging in response. "I just thought you'd like to take a look at them; two eyes are better than one."

She snorted lightly, eyeing the documents closely. "Yes dear, that's why we have two eyes."

"You know what I meant, smartass." Again, a stroke of familiarity that they craved, that was unintentional but not unwanted. It glossed over the anger, over the hurt and left them looking at each other awkwardly with DNA results sitting in front of them.

She looked away, avoiding the tug between them, "What's this?" She questioned, holding it up for him to see.

"Lab results." She straightened her back slowly and stared at him blankly, opting for a stare rather than replacing dumb with smart in the name he had chosen for her. "..The heart."

His tone changed slightly and she eyes him carefully, knowing that this was hard. It took a toll on him to work this case each day but he was determined to figure it out and for that, she couldn't fault him. In fact, his determination was something that she had loved about him.

Still loved about him.

"David.."

"Hmm?"

"Why did Sidney Glass request the results?" He scrunched his face and she slid the paper to him, pressing a manicured nail to the words that he had obviously mulled over. _Requested by __**SIDNEY GLASS.**_

"I don't know, he is an Editor for the Daily Mirror; maybe he wanted an inside scoop." He shrugged and looked over the paper once more before meeting her eyes.

She aligned her posture in thought, not connecting the dots. "But how would he know that there was an inside scoop if no one but you, Emma, Ruby and I knew about the heart?"

"And Albert Spencer."

At the mention, aggravating pangs in her back that had plagued her since the morning intensified as if his name had some sort of power over her. The man was a threat, a horrible being with nothing more than vengeance in his path and blood in his eyes. She knew that look, she lived that look; and seeing it in someone who had eyes for her put a tinge of fear in her mind.

Though she wouldn't admit it.

He is unsure of what their boundaries are, of the privileges he has that seem to be conditional. They can laugh one minute and awkwardly stare at each other the next. They talk but their contact is limited. Where they stand is unknown since they have yet to truly have the conversation that's keeping a fence between them but in the meantime, he is unsure of what he is allowed to do.

For a moment, he disregards the rules and the boundaries and moves closer to her as she avoids locking eyes with him. With a soft fist, he presses into her back and gently massages the side has been her problem area for as long as he could remember. Though she would rarely say anything, he knew her and the mention of Spencer only added fuel to a blazing fire.

She stiffened lightly at his touch and he reached over her with one hand on her back and the other on the document. "Ignore me." He says, lifting the document as if he weren't doing exactly what he were doing and despite the fight in her, despite the broiled emotions that want to lash out, she does just as he asks and relishes in the feeling of relief provided by an 'invisible hand'.

"However, I did tell you not to pick up Charlotte."

"I'm ignoring you." She rolled her eyes and looked over the rest of the evidence, the photo of the carving knife, the photo of the heart. "Maybe you should look over the evidence again to make sure you didn't miss anything."

"Regina, I've been going over the evidence for days," he spoke with a hand still rubbing at her side.

"And yet you missed what it took me seconds to find." She huffed and took the sprawled papers into her hands to set them into a neater pile, hitting them against the counter until they lined up to her satisfaction. She turned to face him and his hand left her body, something that she didn't think she'd miss until it was gone. "Just double check."

"Fine, but while I'm double checking, why don't you..." He paused, knowing that he was getting ahead of himself. She told him to stop telling her what to do and this was more of a suggestion, so did it count? He wondered if she would receive him or roll her eyes and walk away like she normally did.

"Why don't I, what?"

"Take a bubble bath...It relaxes your muscles-OR a hot shower!" The last part was said with a bit more excitement then he intended, leaving him to clear his throat and look away. "Ignore me."

To his surprise, she smiled and the light reached her eyes. Before, they were barely real and now, they reached her eyes. "I will."

Charlotte came running back with Mr. Bear dragging behind her and David blew raspberries on her cheek as she passed, leaving the two apron-clad brunettes to their own devices. He started to walk away, watching from a far as the two interacted and the resemblance was uncanny between the two of them; only the thoughts brought him back to his fight with Emma, to her accusation. And he couldn't help but wonder if he really did choose.

X

After putting the leftover turnovers away for later, putting Charlotte down for her nap and cleaning up the mess left in the kitchen, Regina Mills was tuckered out and sore, something she would rarely admit. Her first pregnancy seemed so much easier; less aches, less pains. Sometimes the smallest tasks seemed daunting and she wondered if it was the stress. In comparison, life was a one compared to the ten she was living now, surrounded by breaking curses and murderous monarchs and not to mention the issues between her and David.

Though she wouldn't accuse him of that or even mention their arguments as being a part of her issues physically, he felt guilty already and for some reason, she didn't want to add to his burden. Being in a house together, living together, seeing each other, talking to each other, it was cooling her anger and healing her hurt.

Rather than being allowed to run away in opposite corners, they had to deal with each other and their anger couldn't stew while they mulled over their emotions. There was no allowance for hate to fester; there was pressure put on them by this house, by the memories it held and something was bound to happen because of it.

It was as if nothing had happened, after all that was said, all that was done, all that transpired, it astounded her that they could still have moments where it felt as though nothing had happened. It made her wonder if their pain was inflated, if the constant denial of their love only filled them with hot air and now they were compressed in the house together, they found some of their issues to be nothing more than that.

Just hot air.

Of course, most of their feelings were valid and many things that had transpired were hurtful but their ability to make their way back to each other was underestimated. There were many questions to be asked, and many things to be dealt with but some things seemed to be working itself out.

One of them being the ability to forgive the other.

Walking into the bedroom that they once shared, she was resolved to take a short nap before the light in the bathroom caught her attention. With slow and uncaring steps, she guessed it had been left on by her. But telling by the abundance of bubbles sitting in the tub and the note sitting on her favorite plush towel, it was just a clue to her surprise.

_Ignore me_

Is what the note said, what it requested; it told her to ignore his gestures and his attempts as though they weren't supposed to melt her heart despite the cold front already there. She could ignore him just as much as he could ignore his worry over her picking up Charlotte. She could ignore him just as much as he could ignore her being in pain. She could ignore him just as much as he could ignore her and that wasn't much.

After obliging him and taking a lavender bubble bath, she had to admit that the aches were soothed and she was much more relaxed. Stepping out of the bath with a tad bit of difficulty, little droplets of water fell unceremoniously down to the floor reminding her to be extra careful of her footing. She hums as she wraps herself in the towel that he laid out for her, a luxurious cloth that was the icing on the cake.

After drying off she heads to the closet but is struck still by the full length mirror in her view. She hadn't given much to her form, too absorbed in the everyday drama and the exhaustion that plagued her. Ignorance hasn't been bliss in that aspect and she was missing out, she was missing the small things, the details. The way her stomach's blossomed, the fact that she's carrying high rather than low. She can still see her toes beyond her growing bump but she kept mindful that that may soon be changing. Looking in the full length mirror, she smoothed the thinned part of the towel over herself and watch the curve that formed below the tips of her fingers. A love tap beneath her palm let her know that she was not the only one enjoying the moment and a teary laugh escaped her. With all that had happened only now was she able to do this; to look at herself in the mirror and admire the life growing inside of her.

Had she stood there any longer, she wasn't sure she'd move, too enamored with the little boy that she'd be privileged to meet in a few months. After dressing down in comparison to her earlier outfit, she laid on her back with her leggings on and a camisole that she later planned on covering with a looser top. In that moment, she just wanted to enjoy her bump and the perks that came with it.

One of them being something that used to be her favorite thing to do when she was pregnant with Charlotte and now that she had some time to herself, she took the chance. With her feet stretched out in front her, her body slightly dipping into the pillows behind her, she applied the cream on her stomach in slow rhythmic circles.

Her mind fell into familiarity once more and she thought of when this activity was once shared with her husband. He jumped at any chance to be with her and experience everything together. Her first and his first. Busy in her thoughts she didn't realize that the door had creaked open and there stood the man that she used to share this moment with. Still at a loss for his pager, he had searched Charlotte's room while she slept and came up empty. Now he was in their bedroom, what used to be 'their' bedroom and all moves he wished to make stopped at the sight.

Just as she had, he didn't notice the details. She was growing out her hair and it fell past her shoulders by about an inch, shaping her face and curling naturally from the mist of the bath. It was a soft curl but it nonetheless added to her appearance. She just looked peaceful, spending time with the unborn son they were sure to be proud of one day. She was small of frame so her bump wasn't that big but it was there and prevalent, only adding to her beauty.

Once again, privileges and boundaries; he wasn't sure. He found himself sitting on the edge of the bed beside her legs, announcing his presence. Her eyes widened by just the fraction, tensing as he paused in front of her.

She wasn't sure if she wanted this intimacy with him again, if she trusted him enough. The thought alone made her uneasy but the look in his eyes involuntarily calmed her. His eyes met her eyes and the memories were taunting, they were teasing.

_Lacing her fingers atop her chest, she hummed with pleasure at the cool sensation of David's touch and the cream he was applying. He straddled her legs, slightly leaning over as his hands smoothed over her swollen belly and his breath lingered near navel area causing shivers to run up her spine. A strong kick met his gentle hand and he looked up at her from the movement he felt. He grinned, tracing a tiny stretch mark, "Here's one...and another...and another.." _

_"David.. I don't see anything.." _

_"Course you don't, you're round and big.." Eyes widening playfully at her. She tried to pull a face but it just left her looking angry. Chuckling at her expression he leans over with his hands on either side of her head and presses a gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you."_

He leaned forward and dipped his finger in the cream she was applying, taking his eyes from her eyes. "You don't have to-" Her protests fell silent when his palm smoothed against her stomach, gently making the same circles that she had.

"You missed a spot..." He looked up at her, already knowing what was going through her head, the anxiety she was feeling. He was stroking a bomb and he was well aware; she didn't trust him.

She was fighting a battle, would she say something or would she let him be, she would relax or maintain the stiffness that wracked her muscles. He took his hands and thumbed her sides, massaging the sore muscles that pained her but she never had to say anything, he always knew.

It was becoming harder and harder not to fall back into routine, into what was comfortable. And if he kept doing things like running her baths, massaging her back, making her laugh or rubbing cream on her stomach, it would be damned near impossible. "Does that feel better?" He asked softly, satisfied when she nodded sheepishly. He met her eyes, pausing his movements so that she heard nothing but the truth of his statement. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Emotionally, physically? She wondered but knew what he meant, only stalling the inevitable realization that their hearts may be broken, but the bond between them never would be.

He made her laugh for a reason; he was able to run her baths without much protest for a reason; he was able to massage her back and rub her stomach for a reason that she hadn't figured out until now. They were fine earlier and they were still fine, only now there were no laughs or sarcasm to hide behind.

"Can I ask you a question?" She started to sit up so that they could be on equal footing but the hand on her leg stopped her from moving. He didn't want her to move from the comfortable position that she was in to accommodate him so he swiftly kicked his shoes up and climbed beside her awkwardly. It had been a while since he's done that; climb around her let alone lie beside her.

She turned slightly on her side and he propped his head up to look at her, not too close but not too far. That's where they were at in their relationship; not too close but not too far. It allowed for questions like the won he was about to ask her.

"When did it stop being about Snow and start being about us?" It was the question that had been nagging at him for months. It was the question that kept him from going to her when he wanted to and made him go to her when he didn't. It was the question that decided so much in the last few months without even having an answer to complete it.

_Today was her wedding day and she couldn't even look in the mirror. In the months leading up to the wedding, with her doubts, her fears and her feelings of wanted to back out she lost sight of rubbing it in Snow White's face, of exacting her revenge on a woman that had no clue as to why. She fell in love but she wasn't supposed to and now she doesn't want to accept what her heart had taken in long ago. _

_Her simple wedding dress says what she feels. She has lost the celebratory aspect that she had long thought she would grasp onto and opted for something simple and elegant. This was supposed to be a day of triumph, of victory and all she could feel was disgust pitting at the bottom of her stomach. The last time she was in a wedding dress was a part of a grand scheme of things; a man to an end and with that though she almost felt like her mother. Only this time, she put herself in this situation, in this church, in this big white dress with ring waiting to tie her to someone else._

_The whole day was nostalgia and she was determined to make it not so. She had grown out hair for this occasion, just so that soft curls could replace the expected chignon. Any up do was nothing more than a painful memory of what she was made to wear, the crown that was made to sit atop of her head with the weight of her loss resting atop her._

_It didn't feel good the first time and it doesn't feel good now. It felt constricting and rather than wear a lavish dress, she opted out of wearing gaud to avoid the truth of what she knows, the memories of what she knew._

_Everything is too familiar._

_This was supposed to be about seeing the sappy schoolteacher crumble; she hand delivered the invitation for God sakes. Something was in her heart, it was stopping her from relishing in the final stages of her plan, in the manifestation of this curse that she cast. _

_This was the whole point, to see Snow suffer! But standing in a tight white dress that she could barely breath in, it was her that was suffering. Something had happened between the vision of her vengeance and the realization that changed everything. And now she couldn't just go through with it. _

_Before she could change her mind, she was bolting out of her bride's suite and into the hallway. As fast as 5 inch white heels could take her, she was speed walking, even passing the groom's room on the way. She was almost free in the clear just as she had been when she attempted to run during her first wedding._

_Someone was always in the way._

_"Regina whatever the hell your middle name is Mills, what do you think you're doing?" Ruby stood in her black bridesmaids' dress that was floor length and clung to her body only to fan out around her calves. It was mildly sexy and her red lips helped her case, never mind the sweetheart neckline. The Mayor's only request was that she kept her hair tamed and classy._

_"Are you about to run? Because I spent 2 paychecks on this damn dress and I can't even turn it into a cocktail dress thanks to you so it better gets put to use." The brunette stood speechless. Her eyes began to fill and she looked away, she didn't want to cry in front of a wolf, someone who wouldn't even know what her tears meant._

_"Oh," Ruby whispered, realizing that her guess was actually right. "Oh man, I-I, you can't do this to him Regina." She looked up, seeing her eyes morph from sympathy to determination. "How am I supposed to win the bet with Kathryn over whose gonna be the godmother if you guys don't have any pretty babies?"_

_The Mayor let out a light laugh, hearing a sentiment that brought smiles to both of their faces. "Talk to him if you need to but don't run," she shook her head, moving a hair that was out of place on her head. "...it'll break him." She smiled sheepishly, hoping one day that she could find a man like David to care like he did for Regina. "He loves you."_

_The words struck her cold. He loved her. He really, really loved her. And the sentiment she didn't want to accept was simple._

_She loved him too._

_With quick footsteps she turned around to go to the groom's room, to talk to him. She didn't know what would come of it, maybe she'd tell him the truth even, just come out with it. Without even bothering to knock, she just opened the door and Graham jumped up with a laugh, covering the groom's eyes._

_"I..I need to talk to you." She was lacking her usually strength and in front of Graham and Whale, she almost felt naked doing so._

_"No can do, Madam Mayor-it's baaaad luck!" Graham exclaimed and Whale nearly fell out his chair with laughs._

_"Cut it out, Graham." David attempted to see past his friend's block but the man just kept covering his eyes._

_"Are you drunk?" Regina questioned incredulously, her tone taking a dangerous tone as the room fell quiet of laughs and giggles. She eyed both men, stifling their giggles like children and spoke as though she were the Queen and they were her minions. "IF the two are you are not out of this room by the count of ten you will not have a wedding to be a part of, you will not have a job to go back to and you will not have a throat because I will have ripped it from your neck because you keep laughing like school girls." Her eyes met the unshaven Sheriff and his eyes widened with fear, near terror when she leaned into him with one simple word. "...nine."_

_Graham scurried off after Dr. Whale who was right in front of them, leaving David who sat in a recliner at the back of the room with his bow tie undone and hanging around his neck. "Regina-"_

_"I'm trying not to cry." She announced, looking his eyes sternly. "I don't want to cry and Ms. Lucas did my makeup, I wanted to do my makeup but she and Kathryn wouldn't shut up and now I can't cry because she __did__ all these things to my eyes and these curls won't last long, I know they won't__!. B__y the time I walk down the aisle, if I __even make it__ down the aisle__,__ my hair will be straight and I'll look crazy and this dress is so tight..." Her voice broke under the pressure of what he knew and what he didn't know. For her makeup, there was a curse, for her hair there was guilt and for her dress, there was love that she didn't want to accept. "I can't breathe." _

_She shook her head as she fanned her eyes, not wanting her makeup to run but also not being able to contain the tears from spilling. She couldn't help it, she couldn't help any of it. She couldn't breathe because her dress was so tight and she was drowning in a sea of secrets. She could swim in it but she was drowning because she was keeping a secret from herself that was doubling her heart and the weight in her chest._

_"Where's Henry?" She looked around the room for her little boy, realizing that he was supposed to be with the men._

_David stood with a smile, grinning as he approached her. "He's with Kathryn; she's reminding him not to put the rings in his mouth." He got a small laugh out of her and thumbed away the clear tear on her cheek before kissing her lips, assuring her of everything she didn't know. "You are so beautiful..." This was what made the difference. "Your makeup is perfect," he kissed her temple above her eyes, "your hair is perfect," he pressed another soft kiss to the loose bed of curls, "your dress is perfect," he met her eyes and reassured her of things he didn't even know were on her mind, "you are perfect."_

_They say that it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding but it was the best thing that could have happened to them. Without a single thought to Snow or vengeance or past lives, she knew that she loved him. When he kissed her lips before they even said 'I do', she knew._

Recounting the memory, a solemn tear ran down her cheek but it didn't go unnoticed. Just as quickly as it had been seen, was it kissed away by someone who wanted nothing for all the pain to go away, for both of them. She turned to him with red eyes and raw truth; the dam was finally breaking. "When I let myself love you, nothing else mattered." Vengeance just became a stepping stone to her happiness. "You gave back to me everything that had been taken away. And when I accepted that, it was in your dressing room before the wedding. Everything after was just you and me."

She shook her head as she turned to look at the ceiling, unable to face his blue eyes for every word that spilled from her mouth. "From that point on, everything was real; I really loved you and I only started to hate you when you told me that I didn't..." She looked back at him and he knew exactly what she meant. When she loves, she loves hard and she gives all of herself until there is nothing left but the overflow. It was a slap in the face to be told that all of herself was not enough. "I didn't think you loved me like you had been claiming all these years."

He didn't know that he had made her feel this way, that he had brought this doubt upon her. He knew that he hurt her because at the time it was his intention but he never stopped loving her. He was most upset BECAUSE he loved her so much. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, than to reclaim what they had lost, what she had foolishly toyed with and he had foolishly thrown away.

Without the hesitation that he had all day, without thinking about privileges or boundaries, he scooted close to her and wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her closer. If she didn't know that she was enough, he was going to tell her, he was going to make sure that she knew, "I do love you," he didn't know of the tears streaming down her face, "..much more than I can handle." Nor did she know of his.

"Do you regret this?" This is her question, her dam that's been broken. Were their lives a mistake to him? Their love? The products of their love?

His fingers ran up and down the swell of her stomach, absently tracing its curve as he spoke, both of their eyes averting towards the ceiling. "I couldn't regret our time together, even if I wanted to." He laughed into her curls, thinking of their life, of five years of laughs and love and ups and downs. "It was perfect."

He confirmed what she needed to know and cast down her fears. She sat up without his assistance and he thought maybe that she was asking him to leave. With a glance over her shoulder, she saw his position and leaned to the side so that when she laid back down, she fell into the crooks and curves of his body. It was the intimacy she had wanted, the intimacy she had feared.

"The day I let myself love you, was the best decision I ever made." Unlike the Mayor, she adds a punchline and lightens the moment. "...in both of my lifetimes."

He laughs until it dies down, until he can put the bow on the present he needs to give her, to give her closure, he says what she's been waiting for. "I know you can't forget what I've said, but I hope in time you can forgive me."

She lifts her head from his chest and brown meets blue, "Only if you'll do the same with me." And his response is one that she didn't expect.

"I already have."

They don't kiss, no they're not there yet. That day was a day of emotional healing, of looking at scars and questioning why they were there, of looking at each other and asking why they were scarred in the first place. In that moment, all he needs is to feel her in his arms, to know that it is real and all she needs is to feel his arms around her, to know that he'll be there.

Even if he wasn't before.

Eventually, she fell prey to the sleep that had been waiting to take her and he didn't dare move. She would not wake up with him gone, with him not there for her; not again. Too many times had she opened her eyes to feel a loss of security and a sense of abandonment.

She slept in peace, for the first time in months she slept in peace. Her dreams were always filled with thoughts but without peace, they were jumbled words and pictures she couldn't put together. However, this proved to be a different story.

She jolted forward and out of his embrace, near flailing as she reached for David's shirt to shake him awake. He hadn't fell asleep, only closing his eyes as she slept. When she moved so suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he was completely alert, eyes wide with worry. "Regina, what's wrong, what is it?" His hands immediately found the curve that he had been following earlier but that wasn't it, that wasn't the issue.

She spoke hurriedly, hands shaking at the realization of everything piecing together in her mind. She gripped his shirt, the nearest thing to hold onto to ground herself so that she could calm down to speak. "He used my skeleton keys, that's how he got in the house," she nodded, assuring herself of the theory, "...probably when Charlotte was in the hospital, no one was home and everybody knew what happened." Her eyes widened the more she thought about it and she turned to look at David, shock written in her features. "And his name was on the report because he wanted to make sure that it showed a match but it, it wasn't. David, he used my keys to go into my vault, he-he used one of my hearts."

"What hearts?" He exclaimed, not knowing of any vaults.

"Not the point, David!" She scolded, looking at him with hopeful eyes as she sat up further. "She isn't dead David, the heart's not hers." He sat up too, eyes just as wide as hers. "He's with Albert, he-he helped him."

Her breathing was sporadic and she was certainly excited, startled by the piecing together of the puzzle. His hand rubbed soothingly at the top of her back as he tried to break down what was saying. "Who are you talking about, who is 'he'?"

"Sidney."

It was too crazy to believe and the evidence, the story was too perfect not to check out. It was a whirlwind that hit the both of them and they could waste no time checking out the story. With Charlotte dropped off at Kathryn's house, the pair was off to City Hall. If her skeleton keys were missing then maybe, just maybe, Regina was on to something.

The day has wound down and darkness is beginning to set in. With that being known, David is weary of Regina coming in with him without knowing what they were going to find. Hopefully just some keys, or really no keys at all. The hallway is quiet and dimmed heavily as they tip toe alongside one another. David can't help the hand that juts out when they come upon the Mayor's office and find the door to be open. He looks back at Regina and the look she gives him is telling that she's not going back to the car, not now.

With the faint view of a flashlight, David moves closer and eyes his wife who stands behind him. With one hand on his holster and the other keeping Regina behind him, his foot juts out and kicks the door, startling whoever is inside. With a dim light, Regina steps into view as David points his pistol at the red-handed intruder. He drops his flashlight in fear and the light circles the room, highlighting the Mayor, the Sheriff and the man standing behind her desk with her skeleton keys in hand.

"Sidney, hands in the air! NOW!"

**TBC**


	15. Kaleidoscope

_OMG IT'S BEEN SO FREAKING LONG! I can't express how I regret the time that has lapsed between this update in the last and I can only hope that no one has lost interest but I started school again and well as you can probably tell, I've been beyond busy. I'll try to take advantages of my weekends and write like today but I don't know what the future holds. Don't jump ship lolol I'll try and sort out a schedule because truly, I was going mad without this story.(Shoutout to **P-A** and **GG**) Enjoy the chapter, :D_

-_**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

The keys that had literally been 'the key' to it all clattered to the floor in a punctuated silence. No one could speak, shocked by the experience they were forced to bare witness to. Surprise, betrayal and bewilderment; they lurked in the air, strangling each body in reach. As David stepped forward his extended arm became more of a testament to what he wished for her to do rather than a physical baring to keep her from doing what he wished least for her to do. She stood in the doorway, eyes trained on a man that wilted at her stare, melting at her gaze; but with the penetrative look he was receiving, all past experiences hibernated and he was stone stuck to the floor as he was caught red-handed.

"Don't move." The active Sheriff instructed, slowly making his way to the keys that had met the floor upon their arrival. He bent and for a second, just a second, he turned away and the journalist's opportunity was golden. Hearing hurried footsteps, he immediately looked up and pointed his gun at the scurrying man only to find that his advancement had been blocked by the woman he had framed, the woman he had scorned.

A fire scoured her insides, wanting nothing more than to feel the veins in his neck flare against her palm as he struggled for breath, feeling her fingers tighten around his throat. Wants and desires took a backseat to what was the pressing issue at hand and she knew that, he knew she knew that, but he nevertheless made his approach quick to cuff Sidney.

Giving the man a nudge in the back, he ushered him out of the Mayor's office, only briefly meeting the eyes of the woman he came with. Just when he didn't hear the third set of feet did he turn around to see her still hanging in the archway of her office, caught up in a picture that never seemed to fade.

"Regina?" More than a call, but a check of sorts. Was she all there? Could she handle this or was she teetering on the edge of using a magic that no longer existed?

"...in a minute." She whispered softly, disappearing behind the columns she once stood beside. With a side glance and a journalist peeking around his shoulder to get a better look, he kept moving. But of course, with another nudge.

She padded against the marble floor, shivering at the echo rather than reveling in it. The hubris of her office seemed to be stolen and with it, replaced by a darkness that was not her own; her office was not her own. Perhaps it was the violation that struck her; privacy being something that she had been stripped of mercilessly time and time again, unable to deny it's oppression.

It turned her stomach, knowing that her office looked relatively undisturbed, that the code had been obviously entered and she could have gone countless times without knowledge of a second party being privy to a place of her dwelling.

He left something behind, a black duffel bag that he could be seen carrying around anytime he'd written a story that made the front cover. Proud of his work, dozens would fill the bag that he would tote around in pride, handing one out to all who went without. The abandoned bag lay crumpled on the floor, shameful rather that prideful. Knowing that it was probably best to call David, she ignored the voice that irked her and balanced a hand on her desk as she leaned forward to pick up the shamed carrier.

With a light wince, she stood up straight and placed the bag on her desk before she went to town, rifling though it's contents only to find wires for which a purpose was unknown to her and papers that she knew could hold some meaning but at this point, she was just rummaging. Looking, discarding and finding, finding something that she didn't want to find. It was small and black with tiny white hearts that decorated it's frame. It could often be seen clipped at the end of a fishtail braid or pinning back a bang of dark hair; a bow.

Charlotte's bow.

Outside the Sheriff's body hung stiffly against the open car door, purposely making Sidney uncomfortable. There was silence but the air was filled with a penetrative stare that seemed go from man to man, genie to prince. He's sweating, clear beads materializing on his forehead only to run down his face and dampen his collar. He's in handcuffs so the beads sting his eyes and the prince stares, blankly and monotonously, he stares.

"Tell me Sidney," he stood cockily, "since you're such an _excellent _journalist." His voice dripped with an unappreciated sarcasm that was lost on the man until he looked up to find a scowl instead of a smile. "..there any truth to you having the hots for my wife?"

With limited movement, his head inclined to meet the man that addressed him and with a familiar grimace, his shoulders rose and fell. "I," the beginning of the lie, "...don't know what you're talking about," the truth of the lie.

"Oh come off it Sidney, I've seen the way you look at her," an arm casually draped over the frame of the door and Sidney's expression never changed, his mouth slightly open to reveal a darkness as his eyes made clear just how absent he was. Caught in the act, he no longer had anything to be strung out about.

"You've seen the way I look at her," he swallowed thickly, eyes traveling ahead of him to the dark doors of the Sheriff's office. "You don't know how I care for her, how I've protected her..." his head shook gently, "...everything I've done has been for her benefit."

"Sidney-"

"She would have killed herself." His voice trembled with a victorious edge, sinister in it's cause. The pride that sprung from him was inappropriate at best, boasting for having stopped her from taking the venom of a snake destined to be his downfall. "The Queen and I have been through far too much for it to be trivialized by your flickering 'union'." His brow lifted, emptily glancing ahead, "..or have you already forgotten your...true..love."

A cryptic moment had David shifting from side to side, squinting to process what was told to him, hitting his mind in a whirlwind too fast to comprehend. "Do you..." he stepped back from the cruiser, "...you remember, don't you?"

Silence hung in the air, the only response being the slight widening of the journalist's eyes as he refused to meet his eyes. Although, what he didn't know at the time was that they weren't in response to him, it had nothing to do with him. None of this truly had much to do with him, but with the women in his life. He was just inevitably caught in the crossfire.

Literally.

So when his peripheral view caught wind of the mass of rage approaching them he was once again in that position. Not relative to her size, but the presence that proceeded her and the stomps that echoed her, that announced that she was coming whether those who were to receive her were ready or not. Her hand bound tightly around the straps of a duffel bag that David only seemed to recognize from Sidney's faux paper route.

"Wait, wait-" He threw his hands out and she moved to go on the other side of the car, determined to get to the doe eyed journalists without interruption. David successfully tugged at her arm and pulled her to a halt, holding gently to her forearm. "What's wrong? What's this?" He pointed to the bag and she ran a shaky hand through her hair, uncaring to the state.

It fell back into place and she exhaled and looked away as she scorned under her breath. "Dammit," she cursed, feeling his hand grip her shoulder.

"I don't want you in the car with him." She turned back to look at him, curiosity written in her features. "I'd rather follow you in your car with the cruiser, I just don't trust him."

She nodded silently, allowing his words to resonate. Fine, he didn't want her in the car because he wanted a one on one with Sidney. "I suggest you take a look in his bag first."

Turning to walk away, he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek to which she paid no mind. Seeing her safely in her car, he bent down and picked up the discarded duffel bag. Inside, he found what Regina found, papers, wires and the miscellaneous. And then he found what Regina didn't find, what she didn't feel.

A compartment.

Bows, blue bows, black bows, red bows, striped bows, polka dot bows, a pink bow that he had seen himself mere days before. She had only found the black and white hearted bow, not this, not this sick stash. That man had been in his house not once, not twice and not even three times. He had crossed the line and approaching the cruiser, David intended to cross that line too.

X

"Did you call Kathryn?" Sidney was inside the interrogation room and David and Regina stood in his office, looking through the black duffel bag that had them both up in arms.

She nodded silently, crossing her arms over her chest. "I also called Emma." He looked up, hands moving to piece together the varied wires and cords. "This is going to get messy. And though you two had a fight, she..." the dark haired Mayor looked off, mustering up her humility, "...she's your daughter. And I may not be able to help you in ways that she can."

He connected the last of the wires and pressed a USB cord to his computer, moving the mouse when it chimed so that a play button appeared. "I doubt she'll show up." Seeming to know the opposite of destiny, the glass doors to the Sheriff's station swung open in the night air and a blonde ponytail swung behind the approaching figure.

"Why the hell is it so dark in here?" She wondered aloud, moving to flip on some switches, illuminating the entire room rather than just the Sheriff's office. She walked to the office and pushed open the door. Blue to blue, she looked at him briefly before averting her eyes to the most unlikely of people, Regina. "Was this in his bag?" She inquired, picking at the wires before rounding the desk and looking at his computer to see that he was yet to press play.

Regina looked to David who shrugged, obviously still a bit burned aboiut their disagreement. Her eyes bulged in his direction and he rolled his eyes to which she raised a brow, daring him to go any further. He huffed and bent over the desk with his former co-Sheriff, "..thinking it might be a phone tap or something that'll connect him to the disappearance," he mumbled moving his finger over the mouse so that a rattle came over the speakers and a recording began to play.

The muffled cries filled the small room, from weeping to sobs that ripped from an untold chest, but a broken heart no less. He, however knew that cry, and peered up at his wife to find her shifting from side to side, uncharacteristically uncomfortable. He flitted over the mouse and his cheeks flushed a bright red at what the fast-forwarding had brough him to. The moans and groans were personal and a violation of their privacy, an open ticket to the happenings of their bedroom.

No one needed to explain the sounds coming from the speakers and no one was left without red cheeks, Emma barely able to stand what she was hearing either.

He touched the mouse again.

_"What THE HELL is wrong with you? Have you-Have you lost your mind?"_

_"YES! I have lost my damn mind because you keep PLAYING GAMES-"_

_"Oh-Oh I'm playing games-"_

_"What do you call sleeping with me and then ducking out before I wake up without so much as a note-What-What is that-"_

_"What is cursing me and forcing me to marry you-Having my kids as some type of endgame-"_

_"Oh it comes back to that-"_

_"YES, IT COMES BACK TO THAT! I'm confused-I don't know what I want-"_

_"WELL FIGURE IT OUT-But don't tell me that you want me if you don't-"_

_"I AM CONFUSED-_

_"YOU KEEP SAYING THAT!"_

David scrolled the capped bar to the end of the recording, seeking the extent of what Sidney was able to get, as if what he had collected wasn't a bombshell already.

_"Regina, what's wrong, what is it?" _

_"He used my skeleton keys, that's how he got in the house...probably when Charlotte was in the hospital, no one was home and everybody knew what happened. And his name was on the report because he wanted to make sure that it showed a match but it, it wasn't. David, he used my keys to go into my vault, he-he used one of my hearts."_

_"What hearts?" _

_"Not the point, David! She isn't dead David, the heart's not hers. He's with Albert, he-he helped him."_

_"Who are you talking about, who is 'he'?"_

_"Sidney."_

Regina braced herself on the wall behind her, knowing that there had to be more, he seemed to have their whole home on audio surveillance. Their bedroom, their living room, their foyer, God forbid Charlotte's room. She didnt know whether it was the atmosphere or her blood boiling beneath her skin, but it felt hotter than it had seconds before. Her cheeks were flushed, paler than either of the 'Charmings' and the only thing keeping her upright as her head spun was the wall behind her.

She didn't know what he had heard, how long he had been listening to her go on about her miserable life. How many times he'd heard them scream at each other or heard her cry into her pillow; he knew too much. It seemed as though, no matter where she was, how she'd tried to change, someone is always out there plotting a vendetta against her. Grudging on her. Using her. Hurting her.

She was trying to change, trying to maintain her anger, trying to keep it together; but she was reaching the brink of what she could withstand. Someone else, one more person in this world had taken it upon themselves to violate her privacy, to deem her unfit to secure such a basic human right. Once again, she was not a person, and she didn't deserve to be treated like one.

He had placed a knife under her child's bed for God's sakes; what if Charlotte had found it before Emma? He had obviously been in her room multiple times, collecting the signature bows that she had been too preoccupied to even know were missing. She felt that she had failed, that she had been to caught up in a man that wasn't even hers to protect a daughter that was. She was too caught up in the drama to catch her own privacy from slipping through her fingers.

The door swings open and they are fast on her heels, trying to catch her before she bounds into the interrogation room. The frightened journalist jumps, inching back when he sees that her appearance is not poised to be friendly. He knows that look, he knows the anger that comes with that look and he can't afford to have her feeling that way about him, not now, not after everything he had done.

"Please M-Madam Mayor, your majesty-"

"Shut. Up." She silences his mindless pleas and the confusion on his face is shocking.

"But I-I did this for you. For years I couldn't, stuck behind the mirrors-" He reveals that he indeed does have recollections of his past life but she doesn't even flinch at his words, too focused on the magnitude of his betrayal.

Her head shook with a venomous tone. "You've done nothing to help me-"

"I got rid of her!" His eyes lit up with a sick excitement at his accomplishments, at what he'd done for her. He lifted from the seat briefly and the door behind them creaked open and Regina lifted her head, knowing that it was David's way of warning her.

If things got too heated, he'd pull her out.

"I've done more for you than he has, all he's done is hurt you!"

He spoke as if he was the third wheel in their marriage, and really he kind of was; privy to the privacy and security of their home. "I heard you cry yourself to sleep when he left your majesty; he slept with you and left the next morning-he doesn't love you!"

"Silence!" He literally had royally pissed her off, forcing her to revert back to her days of the court and give him a response that only insolence could evoke.

"I'd never hurt you like that." He mumbled softly, looking at the floor pitifully.

She opened her mouth to retort, perhaps tell him that he knew nothing of what had gone on in their home but that would be wrong. It was a slap in the face, a cold harsh slap of reality that she had forgotten was waiting for her. In the face of forgiving each other, she was letting go of all that he said, all that he did and all that he accused her of, and he was doing the same. It was hard but doable.

His words almost made her feel like a fool. Were the wounds too deep to be healed? Was she just playing herself, falling asleep in the arms of a man that was possibly hours away from finding his real wife?

Once again; two steps forward, three steps back.

She turned her back to him because on the inside she was panicking, feeling a loss of control. The last time she felt this angry, this tangibly enraged, she had magic to wield and a curse to cast. She was powerless now, weak even.

It was scaring the hell out of her.

It dawned on her that she, perhaps, had been powerless for months and was just realizing the extent. She was a Queen without power and yet sat in her throne, just now feeling the emptiness, the lack of knowledge. She couldn't grasp the feeling of not being control of her own self, of not having control over the situation, of feeling like she was reaching for something she couldn't obtain.

Needing an out, she rounded the door and found the one person that she really didn't want to see but truly needed to see waiting for her, his eyes meeting hers with a knowing stare. They told him more than her silence and he was well aware of the doubt coursing through her. He hadn't dealt with this side of her though, this anger, this level of rage. This was nearing pre-Storybrooke territory and for that, he hadn't the need to know how to calm her, how to deal with her.

His boots scratched against the floor and she jumped a fraction, too entranced in her thoughts to consider that he would be near her. The door closed with a permeating thud and her hands remained clenched by her sides, unable to unravel. Her breath remained heavy, unable to stabilize. Her eyes remained doubtful, unable to trust him. He reached for the hands that balled at her sides and his fingers dug between her own and her palm, prying them open forcefully. She fought him at first, shuddering at his ability to bring her from eighty to zero. Palm against palm, he reassured the doubt that she needn't vocalize. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Emma's feet shuffled in the background, reminding them that they weren't alone and she pulled her hands away, resting them on his chest, feeling his quickened heartbeat. He too was angry and even more so nervous at what she was capable of and she could _only _wonder what she was still capable of, what a Queen without power could still muster.

What exactly was left of her?

His thumb brushed over her wedding ring, drawing her attention to it. Bringing his voice down to a whisper, because she was the only one that needed to hear him out, he told her "I'm not going to hurt you." She glanced down, too uncomfortable to look into his eyes, "I promised you."

She shook her head softly, not telling of what her gestures meant. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to speak. She was saving all of her words for Sidney, for the one who had exposed her doubt, the one who had exposed her completely. She'd rather witness his downfall and deal with her emotions later; rejoice in vengeance than stir in sadness.

That was what was left of her.

The need to see those who wronged her, wronged themselves. Perhaps he had an inkling of this, for when she pushed her hands from her chest, he didn't pull her back to him. He just stood back and watched as she reentered the interrogation room, to finish the job.

Somberly, Regina took a seat across from him, unlike moments before when she displayed he clear dominance by hovering above him. Her eyes began to shine and she turned away, feeling Sidney's hand hesitantly creep across the table with guilt at having caused her any pain."I didn't mean to upset you," he attempted to catch her eye, "I just I hate the way he treats you. You deserve better." He was ernest in his defense, waiting on baited breath for her response.

She shrugged dejectedly, allowing the tears to run down her face in a display of emotion that the genie hadn't seen for decades. "It's not you Sidney it's me," she sniffled, finally looking at him with her red-stained eyes, "..you were right, I'm not happy, I haven't been for a long time."

"I knew it!" He whispered shaking his head knowingly as his fingers moved closer and closer towards her own.

"I just had to thank you.." Regina gave him a small smile and he smiled a bit too, thinking that he had pleased her. "That...schoolteacher was just causing me so many problems and she, she just had to go..." She recollected him calling her by her title and decided to go for the wild card. "Like father like daughter."

His smile began to fall as he paused, looking at her skeptically, "Well yes she had to go but I didn't kill her..."

She knitted her brows in confusion, rehashing his words in her mind. "You didn't- What? I thought you said that you got rid of her," she choked out, tears building in her throat, "For me.."

"Oh your majesty please don't fret." He reached for her and she pulled away, obviously upset. _Dammit_, he cursed himself. He was so close to pleasing her and once again she would see him as a failure, unable to get the job done, unable to follow through. "I wanted to kill her, Really I did but I couldn't, he told me to leave the rest to him... I did what was best, please believe that."

"He?" She inquired and her tears seemed to be put on pause as she sniffled and looked into his eyes.

Sidney leaned forward with a nod. "King George! He told me that the only way I could win your heart would be by getting rid of that sniveling Princess."

Regina reared her head back with a scoff, looking at her once right hand with increasing incredulousness. "Sidney, I was framed for her disappearance-"

"I know and I'm so sorry my Queen, but it was supposed to work out in-"

"What did you think would happen if a heart was linked to the crime? A heart that you forged DNA for." Her voice began to raise and he started to see that the tables were turning and her sadness was slowly morphing into ire.

He dipped his head in shame as he spoke, "perhaps I didn't think this through."

"Think it through? Dear, you don't even know who you're working for! You followed a man you knew could care less for me and blindly did what he asked without even a second thought to how his actions really aligned with your interests!" Her eyes remained pink but the fire that appeared in them was unmistakable, raising his need to defend himself, to prove himself once again.

"I didn't know he was tricking me! He told me that if everything led to you then you would finally be mine!" He raised his voice, a hand slamming on the table. "Charming would be so angry and he'd blame you for her disappearance. All the evidence would drive him to leave you and when it turned out that you didn't do it, you'd be too angry to let him come back!" He breathed, exhaling as his excitement came to a head and he looked at her with a smile reflective of his troubled heart. "Then you, you'd be mine." He shook his head, sneering at the glass as if he knew that David was behind it. "But you took him back." His eyes refocused on 'his Queen', "if you wouldn't have forgiven him, everything would have worked out."

"Sidney." She pushed herself back from the table until she stood over him and he began to shrink back into place, back to where he's always been. Stuck in a space of no escape, limited to what he could do, limited in what he could say. "It doesn't matter what plan you had;" she had to get it through his thick head, "I'll never be yours."

The ex-genie looked positively mortified. Everything that he had done, everything that he had schemed for, everything that he had worked for, he was nothing more than a bauble to take the fall, a pawn in this game that he knew not the ending of. When the door met the frame, but never closed, and he was knew alone, he also knew that he'd be like that forever. There was no way he'd see anything else but stone walls when they were done with him, when he had lived out whatever punishment they had for him.

It was over.

When she walked out, their eyes met. They had been set up to fall apart, destined to fight, purposed to argue. Their pain had been manipulated into manifestation and then used against them. In the end, they were all pawns. The were all tools only useful in the journey to the final outcome; when all was said and done, the Kings, the Queens, the Knights, the Bishops-mere pawns in the greater scheme of things.

"Call George and tell him that-"

"Tell me what?" The voice itself had all three of them turning to the end of the hallway, never even hearing the door open. Startled, Regina backed into David while Emma took strides towards the balding king with her hand on an empty holster.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He chuckled in response, sliding his hands in his pocket. "Such hostility.."

"Your damn right." Emma responded, unmoved by his appearance as David pushed Regina behind him gently, stepping forward with no intentions of letting this man win.

"I saw the lights on and wanted to check on your progress..." He peeked behind the pair to acknowledge Regina in the background. "I see you're in the process of letting her go..."

"Actually we have someone else in custody." David looked back to see Regina pushing passed him, obviously not likened to the backseat of things. "We think he was working with someone..."

"Well if not yourself, who do you plan on taking the fall?"

"Why don't you come see for yourself..." Regina stepped back, nodding at the two Sheriffs active or not so that they would let him through, let this work itself out. "Sidney Glass." She vocalized when he came close enough, watching for his response. It was small but it was there, the tensing of his muscles, the surprise, the reflex; small but there.

Collecting himself, he cleared his throat, looking her up and down. "Well that's unfortunate; I know how close you two were, him being trapped in your mirrors and all." He was treading carefully, unsure of what was coming next.

"Yes, we were close..In fact we were so close, that I'm guessing you're aware of where his loyalties lie." The Mayor had come to surpass both blondes and now stood in front of the former monarch, crown to crown without a hint of fear in the air.

"What are you implying?"

Regina smiled, leaning forward with a bit of triumph, "we know, she said simply.

"You know?" He chuckled, "you know what?"

Her smirk fell, growing tired with his ambiguity and inability to come clean. "You taped us, watched us, manipulated, attempted to intimidate us, framed me and now you're lying to my face as if you have no concept of what you've done. WE KNOW what you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Well did you think that you'd have Sidney tape my house without taping your meetings, and your offices as insurance?" David and Emma exchanged glances, knowing that they didn't have that information but of course Albert didn't know that, eating up every word that spilled from the Mayor's mouth. "Like you said, we were close; you'd be a fool to believe that he wouldn't employ the same tactics as I would." Albert shifted in place, monotonous, but she knew that he was sweating on the inside and the composure he displayed was nothing more than attempts at self-preservation. She bent forward by a fraction, bringing back a smile that made his blood boil as she uttered two words that pushed him over the edge.

"Your Majesty."

Albert bit the inside of his cheek, resisting the urge to speak as she baited him, though his red features told all that he wouldn't. With a swift movement that none of them preempted, his arms jutted out and he shoved the bane of his existence into the interrogation room, slamming the door behind them as he ran in. Regina stumbled inside, having caught herself from falling as the failing lawyer locked the door from the inside, running to ram a chair beneath the doorknob.

Sidney, flabbergasted, stood in the corner after steering himself back to avoid the commotion. Knocks and bangs on the door sounded through the room and a blonde ponytail ran from the window, presumably to get the keys. Regina braced herself against the wall cautiously, not knowing what was going through Albert's mind or what was his endgame.

He was a pawn gone rogue.

"What did you tell her?!" Albert demanded, pointing a finger at Sidney accusingly. The man froze on the spot, not knowing how to proceed as his mind went blank and the corner became his place of refuge. Without an answer, tired of not getting an answer, tired of being in the dark, tired of gaining control only to lose it, he clasped his hand around Regina's neck and pinned her against the wall behind her, hoping to spark Sidney's memory.

"Don't-Don't hurt the Queen-She, I don't-"

"What did you tell her?!" Regina clawed at his hands, feeling the loss of breath, the loss of power as he reveled in her weakening.

"Ev-Everything! She knows about everything, the tapes, the tap, the knife, the heart-EVERYHTING! Please, just let her go!" Sidney sputtered, having the control to stop him but he was too much of a coward to recognize it. So he stood there, shuddering at the sight, the thought of his Queen being injured.

"Did you tell her about the warehouse?" Spencer questioned. When Sidney's features dropped, his grip tightened so that no air was reaching her. Before he was being generous, for lack of a better word, but now he was cutting off all supply.

"No..." She strangled out, attempting to save her own self. "I...don't...know..."

"Shut. Up!" Albert strained her back against the wall once more, knocking any wind left within her out and effectively silencing her.

"I didn't tell her, I swear she doesn't know anything about it!"

"You weak piece of-YOU'RE LYING!" Albert raged and the banging on the door, ever present, became more thunderous, more abrasive. The door began to budge and he discarded his hold on her, casting her roughly to the side. Feeling the push and the weight of her body her hands jutted out, only so that her body could hit the side of the table, the final blow that she could physically take.

The hinges broke from the door and the chair clattered to the floor as David came bustling in, lunging at the man who had tried to take everything from him. They collapsed on the floor in a fit and the young prince straddled the King, fists flying as he pummeled the man for the death of his mother, for the trickery of his father, for the loss of his brother, for the cursing of his wife, for the pain inflicted upon his family. He didn't see a face, he just saw red; whether it was blood or anger, he didn't know.

Emma knew that David would take care of Albert and paid no mind to restraining the man, going immediately to the Mayor, coughing violently as her body heaved on the floor. "Sidney-Sidney," he was understandably concerned, having ran for her the minute the door broke down and she fell to the floor but while caring, it was inappropriate. "I've got this, Sidney." She pushed him out of the way and bent down before her enemy, putting a careful hand on the woman's back, to which she responded with a hiss that hardened the blows going forth on the other side of the room.

Chaos had erupted and while trying to see if Regina was okay, Emma could barely get David's attention to get him to stop before he killed the man. Storybrooke's crime rate seemed to have multiplied one hundred fold since she came to town and murder needn't be added to the list. "DAVID!" She called, kneeling in front of Regina. He looked over, holding Albert's collar as he met his daughter's eyes, her silent plea as she hovered over his wife.

He looked down to see the purple bruises already forming around the man's eyes, his nose being possibly broken as the blood pooled around his face and his jaw began to puff nearly immediately. David wasn't satisfied though; truthfully, he wouldn't be satisfied if the man died either, he needed to suffer, he needed to feel the pain that David couldn't inflict on him because even he didn't have the power to do so.

Of course he wanted nothing more than to check on Regina but Albert had to be dealt with, he couldn't just let him get away with it, he couldn't not do anything. Seeing his line of site, Emma stood and took over for him, taking the handcuffs from David's side so that she could take care of Albert and he could take care of Regina, hoping that she was alright. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Sidney watch as the prince went to his Queen and luckily for him, Emma's call snapped him out of it.

"C'mon Sidney!" He followed hesitantly and left the pair alone, knowing that it wasn't his place to stay, but also unsure that it wasn't the prince's place to stay either.

"Regina?" Her hands were holding her up, palms flat on the floor as she grabbed her bearings after nearly being choked out and then thrown into a table, only to hit the floor in a maelstrom of happenings that she didn't feel cognitive of until it was all over.

"I'm fine," she lied, shaking her head as she braced a hand against her back painfully. "You need to go find out where he's hiding Snow."

"I'm not leaving you, I-" She looked up to meet his eyes, pressing her other hand to her stomach as she attempted to sit up. He held her shoulders, helping her do so as she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting to the tension in her sore muscles. As bad as it felt and as much as she _wanted _him, she knew that Snow _needed _him and time was of the essence. They didn't know what Spencer had planned and if he was lying then, he could have set something in motion before he left.

They just didn't know.

"Go.." She nodded, assuring him that he needed to heed her advice, that he needed to move on. "I'll be fine."

She exhaled shakily, feelings his hands meet her waist anyway, disregarding her instructions. He couldn't just leave her on the floor writhing. She wasn't going to like it but he reached his arm around her back and undermined her knees, cursing himself every step of the way as she winced despite wanting to hold back any reaction. "I've got you," that's all he could tell her because that's all he knew. He wasn't sure if everything was alright, if she was okay, where the pain was, he just knew that regardless he had her.

He wasn't just going to leave her.

She felt around at the base of her stomach, silently praying that nothing had gone wrong and that all was well; but she didn't want him to worry. "Get Sidney alone and he'll tell you, he's scared now-he'd tell you anything." She distracted him, she distracted herself as he walked into his office and held her close, ignoring the dried scarlet on the back of his hands.

He wasn't going to allow her to think that he would do that to her again, that he would drop everything and leave her in a time when she clearly needed him. Yes, his priorities were in order and yes, never leaving her again was one of them.

"I'm fine." She repeated as he settled her on the couch. She wanted to sit up but he was hearing none of it, pulling the side pillow forward.

"Lie down." He stood over her, making his seriousness clear and she flinched as her muscles flexed and stretched, allowing him to kneel beside her. "I'll call Whale and-"

"No..." She stopped him, reaching out to thumb the soft cheek that she loved to feel pressed against her own. "Go...please.." She couldn't have the guilt on her chest, knowing that he was with her while something happened to Snow that could have been prevented. It wouldn't be her fault but he would be devastated and she would no doubt feel his pain. "I'll be fine."

He was reluctant to stand, not knowing what more he could do, what more was possible? A rock and a hard place, not only was he caught between them but they seemed to be closing in on him. With one swift and final move, he pressed his lips against hers, he recaptured the smalls bits that they had lost and rekindled what they had missed for months. Lying back, her palm met his cheek and he pulled away slowly, pecking her lips with a bit of finality.

How long had it been? She didn't know. What she did know was that he was making every attempt to reassure her, to give her back all that had been taken, restore all that had been lost; and to seal it with a long awaited kiss was more than she could have expected, than she could have wanted. All that was left, all that she needed was for her children to be alright and even Snow to be alright; the last thing they needed was a tragedy to mourn, a happening to discuss or a problem to deal with.

Hopefully this never-ending storm was finally meeting it's close.

Hopefully.


	16. Kindled

_I'm going to be honest; I don't feel good about this. I've literally written this chapter twice and had to stop myself from writing it a third because if I did then it'd probably be a whole nother week before you guys would get a chapter. Hopefully my mojo will be in tact for the next chapter because I just feel out of it, writing wise. There's one person that I couldn't have done this without and that's __**parrilla-adkins**__, I just could not have. Without her, there is no chap and there are no updates guys. Enjoy this chapter, school is getting hella hectic so bare with me with the once a week updates. Also a big thank you to the reviews from last chap; they meant the world to me. Truly :)_

_-__**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

They received the call not long after, that they had found her. It began with a wide eyed blonde and ended with her racing out the door, telling the Mayor in a fleeting moment that they had did it, that they had found her. The Mayor seemed unfazed by the news, propped up by open palms on a couch as she waited for the news, to hear what they had found. And alas, the news had come and she didn't even blink. She did stand, leaving the Sheriff's office only to see a dejected Albert Spencer behind bars, holding a beige towel to his face as Sidney sat in the corner facing the wall. Together they tried to break her and they can't say that they succeeded but they also can't say that they failed.

She fought it every step of the way. She clawed, she kicked, she swung, she wasn't breaking easily. There were cracks to show for, residual pain as proof that she had gone through hell and was yet to come back. It was far from over but this part of the story, these flames were done for.

"You're a fool if you think he's going to come back to you." All she wanted was to break him. That was the plan in the beginning, to see him fall, to hurt Snow White, to steal her Prince. But now, now it was so much more. She never meant to start a war, in fact, all she wanted was to win the one that they had already been engrossed in. But fate has a way intercepting and now she stood, thinking that something was ending only to be reminded that indeed, it was only beginning.

She remained poised in the middle of the hallway, hearing the fragmented voice of another that had tried and failed to take her down. At times, after a victory she felt unconquerable but this time, this time there was certain ambivalence to the hubris that kept her head high.

"She's been activated."

Perhaps that was why.

Snow White was activated. Mary Margaret Blanchard could only be known as an alter ego because Snow White, heir to the White throne was awake, again ironically, most likely looking to claim her Prince. She wouldn't know that he was awake so she would hold him at no fault. It was perfect really, the perfect opportunity for him to put the pieces of his fairytale together, leave this broken picture that he had built with her and run, just run back to what he knew.

Her head dipped at his words, allowing the silhouette of her face to shine in the fading hallway lights. It was quite late, nearing the next day in fact and the only thing to show for the night were the stars in the sky and the lights of the Sheriff's department. He told her not to be a fool, not to fall into the trap that her mother had told her of decades ago.

Love is weakness.

And if it truly is, if the pitter patter of one's heart for another showed signs of small ability, if two becoming one left both in a state of incapacity, if being willing to do anything for the other left them weak, then weak she was.

Stepping lightly on the tile, she gave him the chance to say more with a prolonged exit but he said nothing, only coddling his bloody nose as she pushed open the door to the Sheriff's station and ignored her gnawing mind that told her to stay put. Of course she was still in pain, she was thrown against a table for God's sakes, and of course she was worried but nothing was going to make her sit down and twiddle her thumbs waiting for someone to call her. Maybe while she was there, she would get checked out but she'd go regardless.

Driving off in her dark Mercedes, alone after Emma had taken off in her bright beetle, she wondered about the loneliness she felt. As strong as she was, she had a penchant for letting people get to her, for giving their words more weight than deserved. Within herself, she couldn't find it to judge him, truly judge him. In her eyes, they were the same. He had lost his wife and the chance of having a family only to have his only son killed in front of him. He was bitter, he was angry and he wanted someone to pay. He never got closure and in an act of patriarchy, used another man for the greater good of his kingdom only to be stabbed in the back for the very same thing that he had lost.

True Love.

With one hand on the steering wheel and another reaching for her console, she grabbed her phone and pushed one number before it began to dial in her ear. With a shaky breath, she held it between her shoulder and ear, not even caring if he picked up. She'd be satisfied just getting his voice mail because all she needed, all she wanted was to hear his voice.

"_Regina?"_

She sighed, hearing him sigh as well; perhaps they both needed the same thing. She opened her mouth, hesitating as the sirens of the ambulance faded in and out of the speaker. "Are you alright?"

On the other side he was shaking his head, having just carried the woman that was supposed to be his true love out of an old dusty warehouse that he wouldn't damn a dog to. She was unconscious, dehydrated as they suggested and from what he could tell, paler than usual. It wasn't himself that he was worrying about. "I uh-We found her."

That's how he was; that's how he could describe it. They had found her, the woman that he felt a tinge of relief for when finding out that she had perished. He regretted the feeling immediately but that didn't change the facts, it didn't change the weight that lifted from his chest and had now settled back down as though the weight of the world found solace being on top of him.

She nodded though he couldn't see her, her voice coming across as small and soft. "I know..." They needn't say much, knowing the depths of the other's thoughts without needing them vocalized. They knew their faults, they knew their weaknesses and just like monsters in the closet, saying they weren't real over and over again did nothing to dissolve the fear they both felt.

"I'm on my way." She purged the silence to get him over the hump, knowing that his mind was spinning in endless circles over the same thing. Over the guilt, over the anger, over the relief. But she only told him so that she could tell him part number two; she didn't want his response, his reaction. He might not want her to come but she needed to, he might want her to come and she didn't want that either because then he'd feel even more torn between the two possibilities, the two futures. "David, she's awake."

On the other line, he squinted, shaking his head after carrying her out himself. "No, I just saw her, she's unconscious."

"David," she paused, swallowing in preparation for the bricks that were about to fall upon him, that were bound to weigh him down when he already felt like he was drowning, "she's awake."

She began to hear the sirens in distance but they were closer, knowing that she was seconds from the hospital and he must have been as well, hearing the same capacity over the phone. He was unresponsive and with due right. What could he say? What could be translated across a telephone that could describe cinder blocks tied around your ankles? What translates gasping for air only to be pushed back under water once more? How could he find the words?

He couldn't.

She wouldn't say anything, only turning and swerving as she zoomed past speed limits that she was sure he had broken as well. The occasional sigh and huff was all until the chime of a door was heard and she knew that he had walked in. With that, she hung up the phone, needing him to be completely attentive, completely on his game. This wouldn't be easy and any type of distraction had the capacity for liability. She'd be arriving soon anyway.

Hearing the dial tone, he hadn't even realized that he appreciated her silence until it was gone, until she'd hung up. It took a moment and a blonde ponytail swinging towards him to snap out of the realization, the moment.

"I met the ambulance here and called Ruby, she's on her way." Emma smoothed a hand over her head before resting her hands on her hips with a stance that she had grown accustomed to. "I can't-I can't believe she's alive." She couldn't help the smile that was creeping onto her face, the sheer excitement and the plain guilt. He was right all along, she was too involved to see clearly passed finding fault in Regina and had they stayed on that path, they might not have found her in time, or at all. "Hey, David...about before, I-"

"She's awake..." He spoke, running his hands down his face before resting on the nurse's counter as though the wind was knocked out of him. He seemed to be informing himself as well, willing to say it until he didn't doubt it.

"She-" Emma's hands flitted in front of her before she squinted, not understanding just as he had mere moments ago, "...what?"

"She..." He shook his head, rolling his eyes a bit. "I don't know, but she's awake, she knows who she is."

"She-she-How could she know who she is and why are people suddenly waking up?" He shrugged because she was, of course, asking the wrong person.

"We should speak privately." Emma Swan nearly jumped out of her skin, hearing the Mayor's voice spring from behind her. David must have seen her coming but the blonde had no idea, stepping back at the sound so that she could look at both of them.

David nodded, looking behind them before taking a few steps backwards, seeing no nurses at the time. He opened the supply closet and gave them the eye to go in, something that Emma didn't see as necessary but she complied regardless with Regina following behind her, eyes meeting David's when he closed the door behind himself and flipped on the lights to find that they were surrounded by cleaning supplies and cloths.

"Fine, we're in private," She began, flapping her arms by her side, "How and why is Mary Margaret 'awake'" with the use of air quotes, "and how did you two find out?"

Regina, pressing a hand to her back, felt them both boring into her with curiosity. "Albert told me."

Emma sighed, rolling her eyes. "And he's so easily trusted, COME ON Regina."

"Ms. Swan," she swore the young woman knew how to induce a headache, "..allow me to enlighten you on how this curse works. You, supposedly the savior, brought the magic back to certain items, that we held near and dear in our land, here in Storybrooke when you arrived. For lack of a better word, you _activated _them and now upon seeing certain items, that person is _'activated' _themselves." She sighed at the confusion on her face, shaking her head. "Albert became George when he saw King Midas' glove, which I'm guessing is also Midas' talisman. Ruby became Red when she saw her red riding hood and Mary Margaret became...Snow when she saw her item. Which I am guessing was her tiara..." Her voice faded off and David cut his eyes in her direction, noting that she had avoided his gaze.

"You've known how to wake her up this whole time?" He whispered, not really in anger but more in disbelief, disbelief that she hadn't told him sooner.

"This whole thing could have been avoided if you'd have woken her up?!" Emma exclaimed, jumping from A-Z even though they had already pieced it all together.

"No I, I wasn't sure what her talisman was. I only knew the process. And if I recall correctly, Albert and Sidney already had their plan set in place before I ever gained access to any of this information." She was beginning to get a little hot because she truly didn't know. Sidney had placed the knife under Charlotte's bed the day that she spoke to Gold, and Albert had been woken up long before that.

"It's okay," he offered her the solace she sought, placing a hand on her back in habit only to feel her wince at his touch, looking back regretfully at him. She wasn't shrinking at his touch, the action actually was painful. "You don't have to explain..." He continued wearily, looking her over after practically forgetting what they had gone through at the station.

"Yes she does-She knew-

"Emma.." He spoke, eyes never leaving Regina, her eyes having long left his. "I need you to call Ruby and see if she's here yet, if she is both of you need to watch Snow's door and make sure no one goes in her room unless it's needed. And when she wakes up, don't tell her anything...let her tell you what she knows and what she remembers."

Emma nodded begrudgingly, hesitating but following through and allowing the door to close behind her. David, seeing how hard Regina was trying to keep her face on, sent Emma out for a reason. She was still angry, and for good reason but right now it wasn't about her, it wasn't about how she felt.

"Regina..." He reached for the hand that she balanced on the shelf behind her and she gripped his hand in response, feeling herself sink into her infirmities rather than stall them off like she had before. And she knew pain, she knew good pain and bad pain and this, well she knew that something was wrong to say the least.

"I'll get Whale-"

"Wait..." She reached for his jacket, feeling it subside momentarily. It wasn't overbearing, more like a dull ache that throbbed in the muscles of her back and sat at the bottom of her stomach, which was disconcerting. He felt her weight begin to slide down the shelves and he acted hastily, steadying her only to have her shake her head, holding his arms as they held her. "Let me, let me go..."

He was resisting it but eventually, eased her down to sit on the floor, for which she was grateful. She just had this feeling of not being able to stand anymore, of feeling her legs go from bone to jelly. "Whale, let me get Whale..." For her to sit down on the floor of a dusty supply closet, he knew that something was wrong for maintenance to go out of the window but she wouldn't let him go that easily.

"Look at me.." She pulled him back by the lapels of his jacket as he got on bended knee in front of her. Reaching for his cheeks, she cupped his face with a sad smile, tears brimming in her eyes as she spoke. "I'm giving you an out..." Through the smile that she wore, she bit her lip, not wanting to spare any more tears; she'd need them later. "She doesn't know that you're awake and you can go back," She shook her head, holding steadfast to his cheeks, "I can talk to Ruby and I know that all Emma wants is a happy family; Snow would be none the wiser..."

"Regina," He thumbed at the hands that held him close, that told him to go but kept pulling him back. Soft hands that he had held in the best of times and in the worst of times. Hands that he held when joining together and were now telling him that he could forget, he would be allowed to let go. "I don't want that life..."

"Yes you do," he was the valiant Prince Charming that fought for his land and killed for his true love, he had to want that life. "You want happiness and she made you happy, David."

"She did," He sniffled, remembering their time together, their short time together. Their initial courtship, their short marriage and the minutes they spent with their child, she had made him happy. "...but you make me happy." That was before but now, in this moment, it was her that made his heart go pitter patter, it was her for which he was willing to do anything, her who he could feel, who he had become one with.

"David, you don't..." She shook her head, looking away as the tears ran from both of her eyes. It had been so long since she had been chosen, since someone had said 'you're the one I want' that she didn't even realize when it was looking her right in the face. "You don't have to do this...Be a father to Charlotte, be a father to your son, even to Henry...be a father to Emma. We don't have-"

"But Regina," he thumbed the plum of her cheeks and she dropped her hands. "I love YOU..." She shook her head as the tears left her. She didn't understand someone choosing her; that part of her heart had been so broken for so long that it didn't even recognize when someone was knocking, asking to be let in. "And I will tell you every day until you realize it..."

She closed her eyes, allowing the tears to slip down until she felt him pull her into an embrace. This was their preparation, their fortification. If they were going to do this then they needed to do this together, as one. They had to be on the same page, they had to know that if they stood, they stood together. There would be tears, there would be arguments, there would be trials, there would be tribulations, there would be scares; hearts would be broken, relationships would be ended and unless they came together, they would leave apart.

Regardless.

He needed to know that she wouldn't run from him if he look like he wavered and she needed to know that he wouldn't run when her back was turned; they had to trust again, they had to build it back.

Even if it started on the dusty floor of a supply closet.

"I'm right here.." His hand ran through her hair as he held her, as they continued to mend. Only when he felt her begin to slump in his arms did the healing halt and the panic begin. "Reg-Regina?" He stuttered, lifting her shoulder's to see that her tear stained cheeks were paling and her brown eyes had remained closed. He tapped her cheek.

No response.

He shook her lightly.

No response.

"Regina!"

There would be trials, there would be tribulations, there would be scares.

X

His legs felt like putty, numbed to the steps he took. He just felt heavy really, like he couldn't support his own weight or the weight of those around him. His shoulders were sunken, holding more than anyone would care to know or see. Most would think that the Sheriff was just tired, which he was, but it also went beyond the realm of physicality. He was tired of the push and pull, of the fighting, and only wanted peace-something that he knew would be a distant memory with the hell that was about to break loose.

As much as he wanted to collapse into a fit of his own tears, for the uncertainty, for the fear and for the scares, he couldn't. He had to straighten his shoulders, he had to wipe his eyes and get himself together because he couldn't bring the baggage from one situation to another. He had to go in there with a clear head, not a clouded one, with a loving heart and not a broken one.

"Where the hell have you been, I called you like 8 times!" Emma jumped out of the waiting room chair she had been in, only to have an arm thrown out in front of her to keep her from continuing.

Ruby's.

"Wait..." She dipped her head as he looked off, warding off his emotions, off his heart. Clear mind, loving heart, clear mind, loving heart, clear mind, loving heart, he was trying but he didn't know if he was succeeding. "David, what's wrong?" Emma deflated to see his red eyes, gone unnoticed when she was ready to tear him to shreds.

David shrugged, pinching at his nose casually, hoping that he wasn't red as he sniffed and avoided their concerned stares. "There's uh...there's been some complications." He nodded, looking away as his eyes welled up. He didn't want to be the Sheriff crying in the middle of the hallway but he was terrified, terrified for the lives of two of the most important people in his life.

Uncertainty: it can make a fearful situation terrifying.

"And uh..." He crooked his jaw, rubbing at his neck as he turned to give them his back. He wasn't trying to be rude but he couldn't do it with a straight face, without losing his cool.

"David?" Ruby touched his back and he covered his eyes, moving forward to allow his steps to carry him anywhere but there. It was the dead of night and yet prying eyes still roamed the halls; so rather than letting half of the town know their business, Ruby led him out the back, throwing a knowing look to Emma who nodded in response.

When the humidity of the night hit his body, his shoulders shook as he turned away from his friend, from the only true friend he really had. She never turned her back on him, no matter what transpired between them she was there. So when he felt her hand on his back, it was more of a comfort than she knew.

"David, it's not your fault..." All he had said were that there were complications, and though she didn't know how severe they were she knew that he had a tendency to blame himself, to carry the weight of the world.

He turned around, wiping his face clean to show his blue eyes stained with a pained red and a worried disposition. "I pushed her! She hasn't been sleeping because of me, she's been stressed because of me, because I didn't know when to stop hurting her and start loving her again..." He shook his head, clasping his hands on the back of his neck as he paced, airing his grievances. "I let Emma lock her up in jail-I let her interrogate Sidney and I didn't stop George I-" Just mentioning the man's name made his hands yearn to feel his throat within them.

"David..."

"And then Snow!" He dropped his hands, shrugging as he sniffed back his tears. "What am I supposed to say to her? She's going to wake up wanting a reunion and I-I can't give her that." His hand clutched at his chest, at the heartache that he was bound to inflict. He didn't want to hurt her but he couldn't lie to her only to prolong the inevitable.

"Just start with the truth." She knew that he couldn't say much but that. Of course Snow would be hurt, possibly broken. She would be confused and feel as though the rug had been pulled from beneath her but at this point, what more could be done?

He nodded once more, shaking his shoulders as he pulled himself together, wiping his face and sniffing back the redness of his nose. Ruby gave him a small smile of consolation and he appreciated her advice, her being there when no one else seemed to be; he would need that.

Patting him on the back as he walked passed, she followed behind him as he made his way back into the cool corridors of the hospital, his shoulders straighten and his mind cleared. However, the direction that he went really wasn't the one she had expected him to travel. But she didn't question him; she trusted his judgment and let him go.

He'd do the right thing.

Hopefully.

X

He hadn't the will to go see her yet, not when his heart thumped with the worry of another. One issue at a time is what he told himself, not wanting to collapse under the pressure of everything like he kind of suspected Regina did. To be quite honest, he was almost surprised that she lasted this long without intervention.

Tip-toeing into her room, he realized that Whale and a nurse were already there, presumably to run some tests. Making sure that the click of the lock was soft as possible, he drew their attention shortly to him before they turned back to her stats and the monitors that called for darkness to be seen.

The red headed nurse that he remembered as the woman who used to sell potatoes at the town grocer sat beside Regina's bedside, sliding a probe over her jelled stomach, occasionally looking up to Dr. Whale whose head nodded in response. He was scribbling notes onto her chart, leaving the Sheriff in the dark as he took hold of his wife's limp hand, brushing back the hair from her face with the other.

"So..." He could only be in the dark for so long without getting annoyed, eyeing the two professionals with curious eyes. They weren't used to the worried eyes of patients, of their families. No one got sick in Storybrooke and no one had emergencies; they had essentially been living in a utopia of monotony where the only thing to fear was change. Now that that had been realized, everything was to be feared: the inevitable, the unexpected, the expected, the broken, the whole, the monsters, the saviors, nothing was exempt.

"We're gonna take good care of them..." He met the eyes of his friend, not really as close as Ruby and him but they were okay, they related to one another on occasion. The far from seasoned physician gave him a short smile that the Sheriff couldn't bring himself to return, really only wanting to know about his wife, about his son without any of the fluff in between. Though the sentiment was nonetheless appreciated.

The nurse swiveled her chair back and pointed to the dark screen. "Sheriff..." David looked up and watched as she pointed to different frames, "There's your boy..."

"She probably won't be up until the morning given how exhausted she was.." Whale added.

"That's understandable.." David chimed, wishing that he'd push the point rather than draw out the circumstances.

"She's not contracting, which is a good thing-"

"Why would she be contracting? She's not even that far along-"

"I'm sorry, I um..." He looked down, shuffling his feet, "Karen, hit the lights." The nurse, that David could only assume to be Karen, stood and wiped the gel from the Mayor's stomach before pulling back the half-gown that she now wore, taking her time to tend to the maintenance of things while Whale scribbled some more and stuck his pen behind his ear.

Eventually she flipped on the lights and David squinted, adjusting to the change in lights as he attempted to make eye contact with the shifty doctor. As friendly as they may be, he didn't always trust him. "Victor..."

"There's no bleeding and we couldn't determine the exact cause with the ultrasound but-"

"But what?!" His patience was wearing thin, tired of Whale acting as though he had all day to wait and hear the man draw out the inevitable.

"David..." Whale called out in a near warning tone that had the Sheriff straightening his back in a near challenge that the poised doctor chose to ignore, deciding instead to flip through the chart in his hands. "I'm going to wait until she wakes up so that I can confirm abdominal tenderness but from what you were telling me, she's showing signs of a placental abruption-"

"Which is?"

Victor paused, shaking his head. "I don't think you'd understand..."

David's eyes closed as he tried to remain calm and collected despite the man that seemed intent on breaking his will to refrain from violence. "Victor it is 2 am and in about 6 hours, my wife is going to wake up and I will be the first person that she sees. I have no doubt in my mind that the first thing she'll want to know is what happened and what's going to happen; those are the two questions I need answers to right now, got it?"

Dr. Whale blinked, noting the tone of the Sheriff as that of an actual Sheriff rather than a friend to have drinks with after a long day's work. "I'm worried that the placenta is in danger of separating from the uterus and in that case, she'd be delivering much earlier than expected or wanted. We're going to monitor her here for the next couple of days and if things don't get worse then we'll let her continue bed rest at home for about 5-8 weeks and then we'll see where we are and if we have a preemie on our hands."

"5-8 weeks?" He glanced down at her sleeping form with a raised brow, knowing that she'd never go for that. "Can she work?"

"She'll have about an hour privilege on her feet each day and as long as the work isn't stressful, I don't see a real problem with it..."

"Okay...one more question."

Whale took his pen from his ear and flipped it between his fingers, "go ahead..."

"Worst case scenario..." They needed to know what was ahead of them, how difficult the road would be.

"Umm...Despite the bed rest, the placenta might continue to separate and we'll have to have an early delivery and I'll have to start her on corticosteroids to make sure the little guy's lungs are prepared to enter the world..." David nodded, knowing that it wasn't the worst case scenario really, only a hybrid of the worst case. Worst case was losing one of them, worst case was bringing their world crashing down on them in the brevity of a couple weeks.

"If you have any more questions, come find me..." With a nod, he departed and left the two alone in a silence that they had grown to appreciate, that allowed them to think. He did have questions; wondering if the complications were impart due to Albert's stupid move but he'd rather not think about that, getting angrier with each fleeting thought.

He had his moment with Ruby, he suppressed his tears, he cried his tears, he got it out. Now, in this moment, he knew that his strength had to come forth, he knew that he couldn't allow her to shoulder it by herself anymore and of course, he knew that the time would come when he'd have to cross the hall and visit Snow.

But he didn't feel the release.

The moment he decided to stop chasing a future that was nonexistent and stay with the family that he had found in a cursed land, he felt the release of his previous life. It was as if a connection had been severed, romantically. He'll always feel something for her but of the same magnitude that they had once known was unlikely. It was unfortunate for some but he knew that it had to be done, it had to be experienced. He couldn't mend what he wanted while carrying dead weight around.

For something to begin, something must end.

X

_Sneak Peek for __Chapter 17: Lodebar _

Sleeping in a metal chair wasn't exactly how he pictured spending that night when the day began but it's nevertheless what happened. He shrugged at the pang in his neck as he watched his coffee go from tar to chestnut with the swivel of his stirrer and a dash of sugar. With a quick text, Ruby was off to check on the 'prisoners and Emma was-Emma was walking towards him.

Taking a sip of his morning pick-up, his brows rose as her ponytail swung behind her and she stopped in front of him, not caring about the nosy nurses that watched as the Sheriff confronted...the Sheriff.

"What the hell, David?!" He swallowed quickly despite the burn in his throat and choked out a "what?" To which she scoffed. "Don't _what _me! Did you really leave me and Ruby all night to deal with your real," she whispers, "wife," he set his cup down as she continued," while you were babysitting your fake one?!"

"She-"

"She what, David? I talked to one of the nurses, she's still asleep and has been since she was admitted!" The blonde was obviously livid, arms flailing by her sides as she kept her tone to a harsh whisper with no qualms about scolding him. "I have spent HOURS lying to Mary Margaret, pretending like I don't know who she is while you've been off doing what-"

He sighed, hands automatically finding his hips before he found that Emma had picked up that stance from him, ironically enough. He didn't want to give her the impression that he didn't care but the last thing he needed was to be lectured for his choices especially when there was nothing to be done about them now. "Emma, I'm doing the best I can-"

"No you're not! You're doing what's easy for you, because sitting next to the sleeping one is way easier than telling the one that's awake that you've knowingly pursued a relationship with the ONE PERSON-"

"Okay, enough Emma, enough!" He didn't mean to raise his voice but she knew nothing of their relationship, of what truly had gone on between them. He understood that she was torn, that she was hurt and confused but lashing out at him did nothing but spread the pain around.

"No, no you don't get to tell me when enough is enough because you are NOT my father." Her last statement left her breathing tethered and her eyes wide, making much more of statement than she knew. He hadn't been a father to her, he sent her away, he chose his other family and any time she questioned him he shut her down. No, he hadn't earned the _right_ to be her father.

"Sheriff..." He looked down to stir his coffee without meeting her eyes, without meeting her disappointment. "I think you need to take a moment to clear your head, maybe get some fresh air..." Lifting his cup to his lips, he walked passed her and she scoffed, throwing a few words over her shoulder.

"I see you've mastered your _wife's _cold front.." She watched as he paused, rolling her eyes when he continued down the hallway.


	17. Lodebar

_If only you knew my schedule then you would understand how I've been trying so hard to get this out. Between essays and tests and papers and writer's block, I give you this chap and I don't feel good, I'm nervous but you all can't wait any longer. I was going to try last night but it was too hard lolol I try to get it done on Sunday, so that's my usual day but yesterday was not ideal. Please forgive the long wait and I am trying, really with all of these stories to keep them rolling, from Two Sides of a Coin, to Matte Magister, even To Neverland...I just need there to be more hours in a day ;) Typos will be checked tomorrow, I procrastinated actual work for this chap so I gotta get back lol enjoy!_

_**-iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

Sleeping in a metal chair wasn't exactly how he pictured spending that night when the day began but it's nevertheless what happened. He shrugged at the pang in his neck as he watched his coffee go from tar to chestnut with the swivel of his stirrer and a dash of sugar. With a quick text, Ruby was off to check on the 'prisoners' and Emma was-Emma was walking towards him.

Taking a sip of his morning pick-up, his brows rose as her ponytail swung behind her and she stopped in front of him, not caring about the nosy nurses that watched as the Sheriff confronted...the Sheriff.

"What the hell, David?!" He swallowed quickly despite the burn in his throat and choked out a "what?" To which she scoffed. "Don't _what _me! Did you really leave me and Ruby all night to deal with your real," she whispers, "wife," he set his cup down as she continued," while you were babysitting your fake one?!"

"She-"

"She what, David? I talked to one of the nurses, she's still asleep and has been since she was admitted!" The blonde was obviously livid, arms flailing by her sides as she kept her tone to a harsh whisper with no qualms about scolding him. "I have spent HOURS lying to Mary Margaret, pretending like I don't know who she is while you've been off doing what-"

He sighed, hands automatically finding his hips before he found that Emma had picked up that stance from him, ironically enough. He didn't want to give her the impression that he didn't care but the last thing he needed was to be lectured for his choices especially when there was nothing to be done about them now. "Emma, I'm doing the best I can-"

"No you're not! You're doing what's easy for you, because sitting next to the sleeping one is way easier than telling the one that's awake that you've knowingly pursued a relationship with the ONE PERSON-"

"Okay, enough Emma, enough!" He didn't mean to raise his voice but she knew nothing of their relationship, of what truly had gone on between them. He understood that she was torn, that she was hurt and confused but lashing out at him did nothing but spread the pain around.

"No, no you don't get to tell me when enough is enough because you are NOT my father." Her last statement left her breathing tethered and her eyes wide, making much more of statement than she knew. He hadn't been a father to her, he sent her away, he chose his other family and any time she questioned him he shut her down. No, he hadn't earned the _right_ to be her father.

"Sheriff..." He looked down to stir his coffee without meeting her eyes, without meeting her disappointment. "I think you need to take a moment to clear your head, maybe get some fresh air..." Lifting his cup to his lips, he walked passed her and she scoffed, throwing a few words over her shoulder.

"I see you've mastered your _wife's _cold front.." She watched as he paused, rolling her eyes when he continued down the hallway. Was he cold? Gosh, he knew that he wasn't perfect, he knew that he had failed in some areas but being cold was never one of the things he had worried about. The more he thought about it, the more the white walls he passed played back the memories as if he had asked for a remote.

Had he been cold when cutting off contact with Mary Margaret just to avoid the inevitable? Had he been cold when he took Emma's badge without hesitating? Had he been cold when he seemingly left one family for another, when he strung some along and allowed others to fade in the background? He'd admit that he was detached, maybe even a little hard...

But cold?

He'd rather not analyze that to death too, flipping out his phone for the newest emergency that was bound to hit his ears. Reminded of the easier days as a deputy when Storybrooke was a boring uneventful town, the overworked Sheriff let out a broken sigh that ended with the much needed swig of coffee to burn his throat and wake him up.

It was going to be a long day.

Meanwhile, Emma swallowed, thinking in her mind about the lie she would tell today, the lie she would theorize and spit back at the woman that was supposed to be her mother. Hoping that she would be asleep, she pushed softly on her door only to find her up and alert, brown eyes looking back at her curiously.

"Emma..." There was something about the way she called her name, like it was tinged with a guilt that Emma wouldn't understand since she didn't know. But she did know, they were both guilty in a way that neither understood.

Quickly, she turned around to push the door to a close. Mary Margaret would stare at her, something that she noticed when she first woke up. The pixie haired archer would run her eyes over the blonde and her eyes would well up.

Allergies, she'd say.

Allergic to knowing she'd put her daughter in a box and she came back a grown woman, Emma would snort internally. She kept telling herself that they were giving her her best shot, just as she had done with Henry. But look where he ended up, in therapy and believing in fairytales; and she was caught in the middle of a ménage à trois with Snow White, Prince Charming and the flipping Evil Queen.

She wished that she was allergic to the crazy of the situation.

Part of her didn't want to lie, she didn't think she should have to lie for David to cover his ass. If he needed to be covered, then he should have made the effort to come see about his wife when she was only two floors away. Part of her wanted to bust his bubble, part of her wanted to drop the bomb and let the dust settle already.

That part of her won.

"Emma, are you alright?" Mary Margaret settled back into her pillow, as the blonde sighed, filling her pockets with sweating palms.

"I know..." She met the woman's eyes and watched as her expression morphed from confusion to perplexity, brows scrunching in response.

"You-You know? You know what?"

"The curse...I know..Ruby knows...David knows-We know you know too."

X

With a final swig of his coffee, he tossed the cup at the waste basin, thinking that he could make the shot. The styrofoam cup swatted the wall and dropped to the floor in a clank, proving that, indeed, Prince Charming was no basketball player. A sigh left him that was more than a paper ball, more than a missed basket.

As of late, it seemed as though he could do nothing right, like any move was the wrong one and it would only end up hurting those he cared about. Regina, Emma, Snow-of course he still cared about Snow, he'd never stop. He could only imagine how terrified she must be, alone and awake in a unfamiliar world only to be reminded that her true love was no longer hers, but another's.

He was reminded of being told that all curses were horrible but losing love, well that was the worst one imaginable; though, he would be the one to bring that about because she was still under the impression that his actions were involuntary, that he was being forced to live the life that he was given.

But that wasn't the case.

"Still missing the shot?" He turned around to find brown tired eyes looking his way, catching him in his thoughts.

He tossed the cup away with a sigh and passed one palm against the other, giving himself way. He always forgot that she knew him, that she knew his tells and unfortunately his weaknesses. "You can never...resist doing something with your hands..." She gave him a weak smile that soon dissipated as she pointed to his sweating palms, "Though this is new..."

His chuckle was short in nervous, broken up by every step he took to get away from her, to get to the counter where a bottle of water stood, "How do you feel?" He questioned, his back turned as he twisted the cap in his hands.

"Suspicious..." She narrowed her eyes at the jittery prince, blinking back a scowl over the sudden change in atmosphere.

Meandering with his steps, the disconnected Sheriff stuck a straw in the bottle and stood beside her, a once appreciated silence quickly becoming an awkward nuisance. "Suspicious? You swore on a spatula that you'd never drink tap water-"

"David, something's wrong..."

Always the intuitive one, the one that could pick up on a change despite brevity and an attitude despite it's nature. Yes, something was indeed wrong...He was beating himself up about not going to talk the one person he needed to, for not severing ties and cleaning up the mess he made. He felt guilty and was doing nothing about it and that, that only heightened the guilt that he was feeling.

"Nothing's wrong.." He smiled and lied; he lied and smiled and pushed a straw towards her lips, "..drink," he coaxed hoping to help her raspy tone.

"Did you talk to her?"

He huffed and adjusted the straw, "I took care of it, now drink..please." She eyed him wearily, tiny fists forming at her side as she moved to push herself up from the sinking pillows behind her. "Wait-" He caught her attention just as her focus went from his uncertainty to the wrecking ball seeming to attack her muscles. "He said you'd be sore, he-" setting down the bottle, he brought a pillow up from behind her, "..here.."

She settled back down with a hiss and found his stare to be unsettling, disconcerting; but then his lips brushed against hers and she found herself in a place of honing ignorance for the gift of bliss.

_I took care of it._

Part of her didn't believe him, in fact, most of her didn't believe him. He had lied and smiled and again, was pushing a water bottle in her face and she was reminded that she preferred to turn the other cheek when the other still stung from the backlash, the fights, the arguments. Perhaps he told her the truth but not the whole truth.

X

Days passed because time moves on and no one has the power to stop it. Mary Margaret was discharged and went home to her daughter and grandson, betrayal blistering in the depths of her heart. Regina was discharged eventually as well, going home to her daughter, her 'husband' and a guilty conscience for sticking her neck out where it had no business. Blame was coursing through her with the knowledge that it had been her altercation with George that brought her here, a state of close monitoring, bed-ridden and worried. Perhaps if she hadn't gotten involved, they would have eventually came to resolve but they'd never know and she'd never know what would have come of her little boy. As for now, she was confined to 108 Mifflin street with a burning conscience and a running mind.

Snow White on the other hand felt no guilt, only anger. She was locked in a warehouse for days only to be woken up and told that her true loved belonged to another-willingly. He had yet to see her, to tell her himself and with each day she grew more upset. How could he? After everything that they had been through? After everything that had done to be together?

And to abscond with the one person neither of them could stand, to fall into her web of lies and her trap, well it was reprehensible. She didn't know what to do. To stab a toaster to cry or to do both-Well technically she had done both but she needed something to fill her time, to fill the empty space left in her to stew in her thoughts.

Henry was at school, Emma was always at the station and Ruby, the person that was supposed to be her best friend was avoiding her. She hadn't the time or the card to go to Granny's to look into the eyes of people that were supposed to be her friends, her family, looking at her as though they were strangers, because in this world they were.

In this world, she was meant to have nobody.

All those that she had in another realm seemed to be on the side of the woman on the other side of Storybrooke who maintained the same amount of idle boredom, nothing to do and no one to share it with. David was back at work after taking off for a week and leaving the reigns to Emma and Charlotte was at daycare, probably coloring another mailman. Regina, on the other hand, lied in bed, fighting the sleep that attempted to take her.

_She couldn't help the scowl that passed over her features when she saw her standing next to her husband, the man that had promised himself to her, the man that she loved, the man that had been stolen right __from __under her nose. They were trying to fix things, working on their relationship, but she was always right there. Literally, now she was just right THERE._

_"You brought her?" Her voice was indignant with disbelief. _

_David shifted on his feet and his hand touched the middle of __the Mayor's__, almost protectively. Had __Snow__ not been so hurt, she might've had the strength to gasp at his actions, his seemingly involuntary actions._

_Sensing the tension, the __d__ark haired Mayor slipped out of his touch and neared the stairs, shaking her head. "I think I'm going to go." She knew that it wasn't a bright idea, that she would end up regretting it. Why did she, David and Snow __ALL __need to talk anyway?_

_"No." It was a guttural declaration from the shorter, weaker woman. She was standing up in the only way she knew how, her arm crossed over her chest while the other pointed in her enemy's direction. "You did this; You don't get to leave."_

_Regina turned around, one hand on the rail as the other drifted to her stomach, ever growing and ever housing the product of a relationship that wasn't supposed to happen. It angered the pixie haired woman that Regina had bested her in everything. It angered her that she had been married to David for only two years and Regina had him for five. It angered her that she only had one child with him that they didn't even get to raise together and Regina was already carrying their second. In her eyes, Regina had won._

_And it tore her up inside._

_"It's quite obvious you don't want me here." The hand that absently stroked at her bump paused when she caught the woman's eyes staring at her child, their child. She wore a dress that had an empire waist, a stiff black material that was tight around the bust but fanned out below beneath her red blazer. there was no hiding her condition and she made no effort to do so, only irking Snow to her breaking point._

_That was supposed to be her._

_"Oh really? It's quite obvious?" The rage had given her a bravado. "Well is the reason why obvious too? The fact that you used my husband to get to me or the fact that you went so far as to marry him? Or maybe the fact that you tried to hurt me even more by having bastard children-"_

_"Snow, wait a minute-" His interjection was met with a cold stare._

_"What the hell do you mean, 'wait a minute'? That's what they are, perhaps they're innocent in all of this but you're not married to her, not really. So what does that make them? Technically they're bastards." Regina looked away, a fire burning in her eyes as a smirk came upon her lips, pouring gasoline on a soaring flame. "What's so funny?"_

_"Technically, the makeshift wedding you held in our land isn't binding at all. Technically, the wedding in which your BEST FRIEND was a bridesmaid is legally binding. Technically, the fact that you're calling the children of a man you supposedly love bastards discredits any love you claim to have for him.__"__ She had hit a nerve, inciting that their relationship paled with a relationship born of a cursed world. She inched towards the girl's face, no longer caring about personal space as her teeth gritted against her words. "TECHNICALLY you're just afraid that for once you lose...and I win."_

_It wasn't about winning or losing, Regina knew that. But she also knew how to get to Snow and how to push her to her breaking point; she knew just what to say to infuriate the girl just as much as she had been infuriated._

_Perhaps she pushed too far._

_The back of her hand met the plum of her cheek and she lost her balance, stumbling back until solid ground became a series of steps and stairs that stung her body in all the wrong places. _

_She didn't mean it, the minute she did it she regretted it and her heart plummeted when she saw the woman tumble down the stairs, trying to catch herself only to land at the bottom in a shaking heap. His attempts to catch her were futile and he broke her fall when she landed, barely missing her. Everything had happened so fast that he barely had a chance to process everything before he saw his wife,_

_His wife_

_F__lying down the stairs. Regina opened her eyes wearily, fearful of what she might see. She had shut them halfway down, not being able to process what was happening either. Now that she could, she was barely able to catch her breath. Something hard was on her back,she could tell by the way it pressed up against her. When a cool hand ran up her for__ehead__ so that her hair slicked back and she could see without issue, she knew that it was him._

_He was there._

_She made a move to get up and cried out in pain, not realizing the trauma on her ankle until she attempted to move it in her boot. She didn't didn't want to think about the elephant in the room, in her mind. The minute she did her eyes welled up and she could feel the wind that had been knocked out of her. _

_"David I-"_

_"DON'T!" He silenced any apology she had with a bark that he hadn't intended to be so powerful, but when it came out he didn't regret it. He could care less about what she felt in that moment, cradling her enemy against his chest. Carefully, he undermined her knees and positioned himself to lift her from the position she was in. "I know..." He soothed, hearing her hiss in pain, silent tears slipping down her face. She wouldn't break down in front of Snow._

_Not Again._

She jerked forward, immediately regretting the haste of her actions when the reality hit her. The pain was there, even her ankle throbbed a bit but it was all a dream, a torment of her imagination. Exhaling, she ran a paling hand through her hair as the doorbell rang and snatched away the remnants of her nightmare; because, honestly, there was nothing pleasant about it, something that left her shaking, grasping at a breath that always seemed to escape her.

And again, the doorbell rang.

She was not supposed to be up, but she'd rather rid herself of a pesky visitor than endure their ravaging any longer. Besides, she had to wonder who it would be considering no one ever came to her home. Part of her wanted it to be Henry, part of her was even hopeful that it was Henry despite knowing that it probably wasn't. But she was finding an unhealthy comfort in pretending, in ignorance-acting as though Henry would show, as if David was not hiding anything, as though people weren't waking up left and right and it could very well be a mob at her door.

Slowly, not really in a rush, she made her way down the stairs only to pause when she met the door. She could see pass the glass, passed the haze that had been glaring her vision for days. Not only could it be Henry, not only could it be a mob but it could be Snow-

It was...

Regina swallowed thickly, steadying her feet. No, she wasn't nervous. This was Mary Margaret Blanchard of all people but of course, she now had the annoying courage of Snow White, the pluckiness of an archer and the anger of a bitter woman who had her family snatched away from her. She was living her life-She had returned the favor and taken all that Snow had. Her love, her children-And though not intentional at first, it was an odd poetic justice.

Her hand touched the handle and she opened the door steadily, plastering on a smile that could be akin to a doll, a porcelain doll lacking the emotions or the want to deal with situations such as these. "Ms. Blanchard..." Her head fell to the side in mock curiosity, "what can I help you with?"

Mary Margaret opened her mouth to speak but the moment gave her pause; it stung really. It was a moment of complete comparison-She was on the other side of the home, she was on the other side of the fence. Until now, good had always won, so is this what losing felt like-the anger, the bitterness, the complexity of emotions that would strip any hero of their ability to be..the hero.

It's why the bad guys always lost.

Because the good ones can't handle it.

"Ms. Blanchard..." She called once more, snapping the woman out of her daze and forcing her back into reality, just as she had been forced moments ago, the sleep still lagging in her muscles.

"I um..." she turned and dug in her shoulder bag, fishing out a cream envelope that she extended in the woman's direction, gauging the line of her sight.

"What's this?" She eyed it wearily, hands still on her door rather than accepting the extended envelope.

"Well since you hand delivered the invitation to the wedding in which you married my husband..." She pushed the envelope further in Regina's space, "I figured I'd hand deliver the invitation to my welcome home party.." Regina wasn't exactly shocked but she wasn't expecting this either; the backlash was soon to come, considering the fact that she thought David had talked to her already, that he had tied up the loose ends. "It's only fitting.." Her head mocked the Mayor's, tilting in the same curiosity, "Don't you think?"

Regina shifted her weight, no longer leaning on the door; she looked less threatening, in leggings rather than dress pants, an over-sized shirt rather than a blouse-she wasn't trying to intimidate her but, "No thank you," her eyes said it all, "I don't-"

"You know I'm not surprised..." She shook her head, holding tight to the invitation; her voice was beginning to tremble, she was beginning to tremble-standing in the face of the woman who had taken everything from her. "I don't know what kind of spell-" Regina scoffed, rolling her eyes as their conversation quickly went from nauseatingly amicable to dangerously on the verge.

"There is..." She stepped away from the door, letting go of her pretense-Who cared if this was a different world? The animosity hadn't dissipated, it had just shifted to another realm. "...no magic in this world. All the choices he has made, especially since his awakening, have been of his own volition-"

"He's not the David I know!" Perhaps she was a bit louder than intended but that's just how it came out, pronouncing the anger that she couldn't share. "The David that I married, that I loved wouldn't be with you..." She shook her head, tears constricting her voice, "..he would have come to see me, he would have been honest with me, he-" Her hand covered her mouth as it finally hit her, as it broke her.

If it wasn't a spell, if it wasn't magic, then it was him; he had changed. But true love was supposed to be eternal, it wasn't supposed to change, it was supposed to break curses, it was supposed to transcend realms and all it had done, all it seemed to have done was break hearts, transcending only feelings of pain and betrayal.

Her head shook with the tears that wracked her, clutching the invitation that she meant to slap in the woman's face, standing on her porch, weeping before her as though it were her last act, her last grief. What was happening? What had happened? How could things spin in such a whirlwind-sure it had been twenty eight years but to her, to Snow White-it was just yesterday that she was in his arms, it was just yesterday that she bared him a child, that he held her hand and pushed the hair from her face.

And now, today, he held the the hand of another.

"You..." She could barely get a word out, only being able to shake her head as she backed away from reality, from her Lodebar-a place where fantasies died and realizations served a notice you were never ready for.

The former Princess, the former archer ran from the porch, feet picking up speed with each tear that stained her cheeks and reddened her eyes. She couldn't deal, not with this. The good guys couldn't handle this, the anger the bitterness, the good guys weren't cut out for this type of pain.

They couldn't handle it and stay the same; they couldn't remain 'the good guys'

X

She heard them come in, the hard press of boots against the tile, the giggles and laughs at the gruff imitation of a horse. They expected her to be upstairs, to be obeying doctor's orders but she wasn't. And why should she? No one else seemed to be honest, no one else seemed to be listening...

So she stood at the counter, emptying the steaming kettle into her mug, waiting for the onslaught that was sure to come her way. She waited, hearing Charlotte's feet run up the stairs followed by a familiar step. The opening and closing of doors, and then the loud call of her name to which she didn't respond. Setting the kettle aside, she pushed the mug to the end of the counter before climbing up on one of the stools, drumming her fingers on the granite as she awaited the inevitable.

"Regina?! Regin-" Her name fell to a whisper just as his steps closed and he spotted her in the kitchen, dipping her tea bag in and out of her cup.

In.

Out.

"Regina, what-how long have you-"

In.

Out.

"You're supposed-"

In.

Out.

"Regina.." He approached her, entering the small bubble of space she had. Her head turned away from him before letting out a shaky breath. Both hands on the counter, she pushed away from the island and got down from the stool with minimal difficulty; she just wanted to get away. Taking her cup with her, she turned her back to him and he knew something was off-just as she had known with him.

But she had chosen to live in bliss, a bubble of bliss that she was sure wasn't going to end well, that was going to end prematurely-And of course it did, of course others could live in ignorance and the minute she did, she fell flat on her face.

She couldn't do what other people did.

Regina Mills knew that she was not like other people, that other people didn't do the same thing and expect a difference. Other people couldn't do what she does on a daily basis, other people couldn't handle her heart, the mind boggling thoughts, the juggling, the memories, the nightmares.

Most people can't handle her.

"You know...I never took myself for the naive type.." She set her cup down, swirling the tassel on it's side, the other hand hand holding to the base of her stomach-a familiar proclivity that she had picked up. "And I'm not, I just...I.." she never looked up, eyes transfixed on the bobbing bag of herbs. "I always choose to acknowledge what I should ignore and ignore what I should acknowledge-" A smile broke her seriousness but it was not one of happiness, but rather of bewilderment, disbelief stretching her features, "You had this..this look..in your eyes." She lifted her gaze to face his, glistening with tears that she refused to shed.

Not again.

"I don't...trust you.." She shrugged as if there was nothing to be done about that; she just didn't trust him. "You know that and yet you-you keep lying to me-"

"Regina-"

"Please..." She wasn't raising her voice; contrarily speaking in a soft and somewhat subtle tone, "because the more you talk, the more you lie and if you lie to me again, I-" Her eyes fell closed and she shook her head, choosing to exhale rather than speak.

He wanted to tread softly, in fact he wanted to sit her down before she got worked up but doubted that she'd go for that. "I didn't lie-What did I lie-"

"You said-" Her voice rose and he was silenced, not expecting her to come back so strong, "You said that you took care of it and I-I saw the look in your eyes.." She shook her head, backing away from the counter as the culmination of her anger began to hit the walls, "And who knocks on my door this morning?" Her small fist hit against the counter in a mock of her earlier encounter. "Your wife..." She let the words settle with him, both hands on her hips as she stared at him, gauging his limitless reaction. "Wanting to know if the Evil Queen casted a curse that prevented her husband from coming to see her-Because apparently, I took care of it-"

"Regina-"

"I took care of it-" Her voice remained at the same volume, no longer caring for his attempts to simmer her down, "now means that I'm going to look you in the eye and lie to you because I'm too much of a coward to tell you the truth..."

There was not much that he could say, not much that he could defend himself with, only left to stand there and take it. "If you can't even tell her that you want to leave than why the hell..." Her arms flapped beside her, not being able to understand, "should I believe that you do..."

"Regina that's not fair-" He did want to leave, truly he did. But he didn't want to fight with her while she was in the hospital and he didn't want to lie to her...but then what about Regina? He had lied to her without even blinking an eye.

"That's not fair? That's not FAIR?!" Her hands met the counter and he took a step forward, knowing that, even though the anger was directed towards him, she was nearing her breaking point. "Dammit, David-Do you want to know what's not fair? It's not fair that Charlotte doesn't know which parent she's going to wake up to anymore. It's not fair that you keep telling me one thing and giving me another-If you want to be here, BE HERE! But don't give me your body out of guilt so that your mind can wander off into the forest with Snow and her woodland creatures!"

"Regina, I told you what I want-"

"And you keep lying! What am I supposed to believe, huh? One day the sky is blue and the next day it's purple, in a couple days it'll be green-what, what kind of life is that?!"

"I didn't start this life, I-" Getting so heated, getting so in the moment that his words ran flippant and he hadn't a care to what was coming out of his mouth.

She shook her head with a scoff, "And that..." she promised herself that not another tear would fall because of him, because of this situation; unfortunately, with the tears welling in her eyes and the tightness in her throat, she doubted that promise would remain unbroken. "That is why this won't work..."

He completely deflated, met with her red eyes as the silence settled between them. Her pain, his pain, his lies, her truth-No one likes when it's all aired in the open, when the wounds that never healed are reopened and the issues that went ignored are faced with being dealt with.

"Regina..." He wasn't going to walk away, not like last time, not like the countless times and arguments before. "Regina, I love you..." He neared her and she didn't back away, only eyeing him as she stood against the counter. "And I know that you love me too.." He had her cornered, unable to walk away from him, to storm away.

She pushed him back, fists against his chest as she looked away, a tear slipping down her cheek, "Love isn't supposed to feel like this." It isn't supposed to be this painful, this agonizing. She knew that good things took time and work but this just felt cruel. Her fists pushed on his chest and moved from in front of him, not wanting to be trapped but his eyes, by his words.

At times she hated love, it felt so...manipulative. She'd stay when she wanted to leave, say no when she meant yes and yes when she meant no. It distorted her perceptions and altered her moral compass-Love, it's all she ever wanted, all she's done, all she's strove for was in the pursuit of or the vengeance for love.

And this is what she got in return; it's cruelty.

She paused, looking over her shoulder to a man that had nothing left to say, nothing left to excuse his actions. He couldn't grovel, knowing that it's not what she wanted, not what she needed. She needed security, she needed love-honestly. She needed love-holistically. She need love-unconditionally.

And yet he had all the right words, but little action to show for it.

A kiss, an airing of grievances on a dusty supply room floor was not enough, not after all they'd gone through. When push come to shove, the insecurities would arise and they'd be forced into Lodebar-a place where fantasies died and realizations served a notice neither of them were never ready for.

X

He shuffled his feet against the welcome mat, hands stuffed in his pocket as he waited. He had wrung the doorbell and knocked on the door; now all that was left was for him to wait, wait and be patient, be patient and wait, wait for the door to be answered, wait for him to do what he should have done a week ago.

The blonde Sheriff swung the door open, recoiling when she saw who it was, "She's not home..." with her mouth set in a firm line, she wasn't budging, standing in the doorway as if to block any entrance he would attempt to make.

"Emma..." He heard her voice call from behind the blonde's shoulder, peaking her ears in the direction of the living room. "It's fine..."

Emma stepped back, allowing the school teacher to step in front of her, arms crossed over her chest as she sniffled. David nodded in acknowledgment, his hands coming from his pockets as he met her eyes, "We need to talk..."

She nodded, stepping back to let him hin, "...that we do.."


	18. Loved

He was looking at her and felt no need to hide it; he had always looked at her, he had always admired the beauty that caught his attention, that gave him pause when nothing else could. Ebony hair still fell like bangs to cover her eyebrows, snow white skin still glowed beneath the right light and lips, red as blood, still pouted softly when they spoke. She was the same, she was Snow, the woman he chose.

It was he who had changed.

Through new eyes, he saw her, with new thoughts, he perceived her. He was falling prey to the aftermath of his feelings, of his decisions; he couldn't say that he was upset either, that he didn't mind looking at her hair and just seeing messy brunette bangs. He didn't mind that her skin was rather pale, not admirable, but just strikingly pale. He didn't mind that there were red lips he no longer yearned to kiss, that he didn't mind being pouted because he paid no attention to them any how.

He had changed.

And she could tell; the atmosphere had changed in climate and she wasn't even told. There was supposed to be a chill when she looked into his eyes, there was supposed to be a spark and all that aroused with in her was betrayal, not excitement, not the staggering love that should have overcame her when waking up after three decades of missing him. Their love was dormant and should have been awoken just as she had. Only she woke up-But not to love.

She woke up to should have's and could have's and the disturbing parallel of a life she had envisioned for them being enjoyed by the one woman she couldn't have imagined. If it had been anyone else, perhaps the sting wouldn't be so bad, perhaps she could look him in the eyes without the agony of knowing that of all people, he chose to stay with a witch that took everything from her.

Regina Mills was the Evil Queen and there was no sugar coating it. Snow didn't care how many kids they shared together, how many nights they lied beside each other, how many times 'I love you' began and ended a conversation. For every child there was a betrayal, for each night there was a death and for every proclamation of love, there were dozens of happy happy endings she had demised.

"How..." There were so many questions, so many that needed to be asked and so many answers that she couldn't stand to hear at this point. The words in her throat were crestfallen, leaving her before the chance was even given to gather her thoughts. "...could you?" How could he forget her? How could he love someone else? How could he willingly stay with someone else? How could he not care to come for her?" How could he? "After everything..." She couldn't look at him, eyes roaming the floor as if it replayed their history, a past she never thought would be the only good memories they were to share. "She took..." her gaze lifted to his as she swallowed thickly, "...everything from us."

This had to be done, the questions had to be asked and the answers had to be given no matter how much it hurt. "From you.." His voice found a strength in what he knew to be true, what he hadn't realized until now. "But she..." He knew the absurdity of his decision, he knew that it made no sense to the outside world, that he was just as crazy as the decision he was making but, "she's given me _**everything**__..._" His words forced her to look at him, forced her to see him...

To see that he had changed.

"And I..." He closed the small gap between them and found that, with folded arms, her eyes still glistened for a lost love and a stolen future, "I hate that it's at your expense but I..." Shoulders shrugging, he didn't know what else to tell her, how else he could explain it, "I love her..." The disbelief in her eyes needed no explanation, only telling in the fact that she stepped back from him, not being able to take the proximity.

Her arms uncoiled from around her as two palms pressed to her temples, trying to comprehend what he was telling her, what she couldn't bring herself to believe, "I-I don't understand, I-"

"Snow-"

"No!" Black bangs shook as her head did the same, refusing to take any type of placation. She didn't want excuses, she wanted answers. "This doesn't make any sense! You-you are with her because of a curse, what part of that don't you understand? You're suppo-" her voice was lost in a sea of her tears, an arm holding at her stomach as it contracted with each sob, seeming to rip her in half, seeming to rip her heart out, seeming to break her. "How..could you?" Was all that she could manage, bent over with wails she refused to disguise.

Only by hearing her weep, could he understand what he had done to her.

Looking up, she saw him making small steps towards her and she tried to stand up straight but the tears fell steadily down her face. Gently, his hand cupped her face, thumbing against the plum of her cheeks as stray tears fell into the lines of his skin. For a second, he saw the hopeful look in her eyes, the nostalgia glossing over brown orbs. She had missed his touch, the intimacy, the wordless love. He opened his mouth as though there was something to say but silence fell between him and he pressed his lips against hers.

Her eyes fell closed and tripped into his kiss, getting lost in a long gone feeling, in searching for something that she no longer had. He pulled away and found that his own cheeks were wet-but not from her tears; his own.

"Tell me..." He whispered, grazing her tears, "...that you felt something..." Her own hands stroked at his as they held her face, messy bangs, pale skin, and lips that no longer felt the same to kiss. "Tell me...that it feels the same..." She shook her head softly and her chest tightened, tugging at more tears to fall from her eyes as her shoulders shook with the revelation.

True love

had changed.

Her hands fell to her sides. Her heart fell to the bottom of her shoes. Her world fell from beneath her; she fell, she was falling and she didn't know how to stop. She couldn't help the sobs that ripped from her, that melted all the strength she could muster. "No..." She really did lose everything and anything she could have called hers. She had no friends, her daughter had grown up without her and now her husband was leaving her with no intention of coming back.

The witch had won.

Everything Snow had been accused of taking, Regina came back for with a vengeance, and she won. So it was a lie, the good ones didn't always win, those with the lightest of hearts didn't always get happy endings and all the waiting, all the deaths it took for them to be together collapsed in vain. A universal fairytale found it's end in a small flat in an imaginary town meant to rip the happiness from all who found themselves entangled with it.

She was devastated, utterly blown away by the few words that had been exchanged between them. Arms constricting her own torso, she allowed herself to wallow in the sobs, in the tears. She wanted to feel everything; she wanted to know exactly what had been done to her, exactly what had befallen her happy ending.

Because now, now it no longer existed.

"I think you need to go..." A voice spoke over the broken sobs and the heavy breathing, the wordless tension and the open wounds looming in the air. Indeed, it was time for him to go, to let her cry and let her mourn that which she could have had.

He stepped back and the obligation was gone. Before, he felt obligated to love her, obligated to see ebony black bangs, to see snow white skin, to see red lips waiting to be kissed. It was true love, soul ties that bound him to her and her to him... And well, something had changed. Even when his heart wasn't it in, his mind still was, his body still was...He had to be there, he had to with Mary Margaret, he had to maintain the fairytale...

Even if it was a lie.

He thanked her for the good years they shared, for the daughter she bore, for the love they had; he didn't throw it away. But in this world, in this moment, there was someone else.

So he took to the door, walking past green piercing eyes and blonde curls, feeling the resentment without even having to look her way. Yes, there was more to discuss, yes there were things to hash out, but at this point the best thing that he could do, the best thing for everyone

Was for him to leave.

X

The wind was brisk and uncaring if it flipped your scarf to cover your face or shook a perfectly good hairstyle into a messy shag. The wind blew and his hands balled in his pockets, getting the occasional smile from those who passed him on the sidewalk, those who he knew from before. It was odd to see them bereft of who they were, like clean slates, fit to be molded by this new world. He wondered if that's what Snow saw him as, a manipulated mold, not made from his own volition.

It wasn't true though, he couldn't believe it to be so. Their love was too...it was too _something_. He almost didn't understand it, the magnetism between them. Someone who didn't understand would look at them and say they weren't right for one another. They were like two hot coals that only ended up burning the other person anytime they got to close. Some would say they were too toxic, too damaging, and at a time he believed it.

But now, all he saw was a road they would have to travel in order to reach exactly what they wanted. The happiness without destruction, the laughter without tears, the love without anger. It was attainable but they would have to burn each other along the way, they would have to get stronger, they would have to get tougher. The storm that was heading for them would require it, require their strength and their durability. It was one that they couldn't endure alone and one that, if all went according to plan, they wouldn't have to go at alone.

"A charming day isn't it?" And the creator of most storms, the puppet master that never received the credit, that never took the blame for the heavy winds that blew and the rain that poured down,

"Rumpelstiltskin..."

"How bold, dearie..." This wasn't just a casual passing on the sidewalk. When the man turned on his cane, this was a stare down, a culmination of tensions that had been awaiting it's release. "For an oddity I can't pinpoint, the name..Gold has grown on me. I wouldn't mind if you kept referring to me as such."

David was silent, tipping on his toes and fighting the urge to throw the man against his own pawn shop door. Temptation was an odd thing, tricking one into believing that the best thing is the worst thing and the worst thing, well it's not so bad if you _really _think about.

"Cat got your tongue?" The immortal but fallible man teased, leaning forward on his cane with a smirk that left mutual sentiments. "Or should I see Queen?"

"You woke up Sidney Glass and Albert Spencer...And you helped them wake up Mary Margaret.." This wasn't a game to him; he had helped them set this whole thing up. He was the leading domino in this chain of effects and that didn't fall lightly with the Prince gone Sheriff. "You knew where she was the whole time..."

Gold leaned back, tilting his head to the side as if he were listening to a child ramble. That attempt or fake attempt to listen that was skewed by mumbles that he couldn't understand...But he did understand. He knew exactly what David was accusing him of but he'd rather pretend that he didn't, because in this world, the world without magic, ignorance is bliss.

Ignorance is magic.

It makes that which is ugly, beautiful. It grooms love to avoid fallacies and allows happy endings without thinking about all the consequences. In this land, not knowing is the closest thing to a fairytale that we can get.

"What I don't get...Is why you would want to get your hands dirty.." The Prince rationalized, not caring that the man's eyes mocked him or his stance attempted to intimidate him; it wasn't working anyway. "Why would you involve yourself?"

He tilted his head back, pondering his thoughts before releasing a taunting tone. "Tis best to hide your cards thinking you have something than to show them and find you have nothing..." His smirk meant more and he knew it, leaving the Sheriff with a riddle to solve and a mystery to beat before limping off in the opposite direction.

And as expected, David said nothing. Though he was more concerned than confused-Gold only spoke in circles when there was something he needed to know but that the imp didn't want to tell him.

The rest of the walk home was left to ponder his words, almost wishing that he hadn't stopped at all; after all, the lack of knowledge does the heart and the mind good in the short run, allowing one more night to sleep tight, one more day of no worries.

Though he was tired of doing that, because the long run was always a disaster, Everyone he loved always got hurt, everything he wanted was always gone in the end and he was left pondering his mistakes, contemplating the decisions too far gone to change. He wanted honesty or nothing because it's what he needed, it's what his family needed if they were going to weather this storm.

It was passed dinner time but no remnants were left behind. He guessed that she had taken care of it, and part of him hated that she did; she was supposed to be in bed resting, and yet she seemed to be doing everything but. She was upset and when she was upset, she had to be up and about, her mind needed to do something to deflect from her heart. It was a consequence of loving so hard, of falling so hard and so deep that the only way to ease the pain was to ignore it.

_Oh, the irony._

After peeking in Charlotte's room and finding it untouched, he could only guess that she had spent the time with Regina. There were times when he marveled at their relationship, at how close they were. They looked the same, they acted the same, short tempered and sassy, both having him wrapped around their fingers.

He found a small pair of arms wrapped around a larger pair, Charlotte's face finding solace nuzzled into her mother's side as she slept. It was a sweet sight really, Charlotte seemingly glued to Regina as though she were the only source of warmth, but it didn't take long for one brunette's eyes to flutter open. He doubted that she was asleep when he came in and saw the pillows propped up behind her back, supporting the parts of her that were still sore and ached to give Albert Spencer what was coming to him.

Neither said anything; they had become a pair of silence, which could be a good and bad thing. Sometimes it gave them an excuse to hide things, an excuse to omit things for their own benefit, but it would be unfair to forget how comforting silence could be. When no words are needed and actions say what words are not designed to convey. Words can be cold, and numbed to proper perception, lacking the appropriation to say what a simple touch does. A graze of skin, a lingering gaze.

Not only do actions speak louder than words; they do what words cannot.

He walked passed their bed and disappeared into the closet, reappearing seconds later without shoes or a coat, just a receptive heart and a pair of eyes watching him as he disappeared into the bathroom, but not for long. He left the light on and came back out to walk over to the other side of the bed; Charlotte stirred at her father's touch, whimpering softly at the loss of contact that quickly disappeared when he took her in his arms, despite the silent protests form the other side of the bed.

He knew that she would never get any sleep with Charlotte twisting and turning every hour; she never did. Besides, what he had planned was best done with Charlotte under the covers in her own bed, in her own room.

Regina yawned into the palm of her hand, leaning back into her pillows as she wondered what he was up to, only to guess that he must be running a bath. She had showered twice already, once when waking up and again before getting into bed but the tension in her back was unresponsive to any attempt at alleviation. He was attentive and she acknowledged that, but it didn't change the simple truth of her not trusting him. It was a valid feeling, considering their history.

Lies, contempt and arguments yielded the only ting possible when, despite all, they stayed together.

He came back into the room, leaving the door with a tiny crack of hallway light before turning his attention to the brunette that eyed him. No, he wasn't getting off that easy, they had still fought and she was still disappointed but when he put his hand in front of her, she found herself faltering in that disappointed. Her eyes roamed from his palm to his eyes, and the effort he made was making was undeniable.

No one had made that effort in a long time; she hadn't been important enough. No one had found her important enough to fight for, to take risks for, to wait for. She was left, she was forgotten, she was given up on, she just wasn't worth it. And that, that was what hurt the most; she thought that he had given up on her just as everyone had. When he left and and took their daughter with him, she felt that again, she had been given up on. She wasn't worth fighting for, she wasn't worth waiting for.

And it seemed like, every day since he'd been trying to right that wrong.

So she took his hand.

X

They were mending and it would take time. At times it would be devastating. At times it would feel as though the wind had been knocked from their lungs and any attempt at catching their breaths was futile because life wasn't worth it anyway. At times it would feel as though they had tripped into an abyss and the walls and floors were dark alike, un-telling of which was which. Hell would seem never ending and bliss, unattainable.

But then there were these moments.

When it was intimate; when the stillness in the air was so calming and the simplest of touches meant so much more than an apology. Lavender tinged the air, the causing bubbles covering the water as she allowed herself to relax in his hold. It had been so long since they'd done this, since they had been so close, since they trusted the other enough to do it. At least this kind of trust was still there, the kind that let her eyes fall closed as her hair, held up in a clip, rubbed against his shoulder. Chest to back, not much could be said when actions said everything.

Her finger tracing the lines inside his palm, getting to know him all over again; his eyes studying her features as she did so, remembering her all over again. It wasn't that she was beautiful, though she was. It was't that she hadn't aged in three decades, though she hadn't. She was...vulnerable. She hadn't felt safe in so long that she didn't know how to respond to not being unprotected. He didn't need to tell her that he went to go see Snow, she knew. He didn't need to tell her that he sorted things out as best he could, she knew. He loved her, she knew, but it was actually one of the things that he still had to convince her of.

Between them, there was so much debris, there was so much anger; 5 years, they spent together with nothing more than a full mind, an open heart and a curse of secrets. They grew together, they laughed together, they loved together, they cried together-even when not in the same house. And that's why it was so hard to feel his skin against hers, to lay in his embrace; because it felt _too _good, it felt too much like the love they had attained when ignorance was what provided their bliss. When him not knowing and her not telling was the best thing for them. But now, it was all out, the clothes were hanging on the line and they couldn't speak. But, every finger on a palm,

_You took something from me_

Every lingering glance,

_You lied to me_

Every sigh that pressed a back to a chest,

_You took something from me_

Every time eyes closed because tears were too close at bay,

_You were my friend_

Every tear that fell,

_You were my everything._

But it was too raw to convey that, it was too soon. There was only one thing that he could say that would be appropriate for the moment, that would seal all that they did say and all that they couldn't say, though the need was obvious. His lips lingered near her ear but said nothing, pausing to press a kiss to her temple instead. No, he didn't catch the tear that rolled down her cheek, that fell into lavender bubbles and went unnoticed; but part of him knew anyhow.

So when he did speak, it was a soft whisper that only she could hear, and only she needed to hear; "You are..." She was a lot of things but there were only a couple that he had tried to take from her, "...a wonderful person," her back shook against him and he held on, letting her go for nothing, "...an incredible woman...and mother...and.." he sniffled, kissing her temple once more as the tears fell from her eyes, "you're my wife..." After months of telling her that she wasn't, after months of denouncing their relationship and the products as nothing more than culminated accidents, after months and months of telling her otherwise, after months of her accepting it.

They were mending and it would take time.

They'd lie there for a few more moments and not a word would be spoken, for they were not needed. They'd get out and glance, towel off together, get dressed together, they'd lie again in the comfort of a bed that they once called 'ours' rather than 'yours' or 'mine'. It was a process that neither knew the ins and outs of; neither had gone through this before. They never would have guessed that it'd take a curse to bring them together, tear them apart, and mend them back together again.

The sun rose over them and she hid her face in his chest, blocking the light that peeked in, uninvited and unwanted. They didn't want a new day, a new day meant new troubles, new problems, new people. They liked the moment, to live there, to linger there-they preferred it after all to creating new ones when the ones they were in seemed so...peaceful.

When he tucked a strand of hair beneath her ear, she knew that he was awake and looked to up to see him, to see the concern in his eyes. They had lain like that all night, legs wound up, chest to chest and truth to truth. "Hi..." She was the first to speak, looking to him with a timid greeting, opening the door for him to be comfortable. She was safe, she felt safe; she was loved, she felt loved and he needn't worry about anything else,

They were already close, very close in fact; but out of regard for her, he dipped his head in hesitant search for her embrace. And rather than deny him, her palm met his cheek and her lips met his, a kiss that meant more than a morning greeting.

She pulled back, running a thumb over his cheek with a cursive stare, mind seemingly elsewhere. He could see that something had infiltrated her thoughts, steering her attention from him, from them, from that moment.

"What?" His question went unanswered for longer than he'd expect, as though the cogs in her mind had to turn before she answered him, still waking up with a grogginess that she had grown accustomed to.

"As much..." She kissed him once more, teasingly pulling away to continue, "as I want you to stay, aren't you supposed to be at work already?"

He shrugged, sinking into the pillows beneath them as if his whole body had fallen into a pout, wishing to woo her with his expressions, "I have some _home_," the hand on her waist pulled her closer to him, leaving no space to be seen, "..work to do..." A brow began ro rise and he was forced to resort to whining, blue eyes looking at her dark ones, "Can't I just stay here?"

X

There was blue everywhere. A cross between subtly baby blue and sky blue. He had gotten the painting out of the way, leaving the furnishings to be put together but he had to do so quietly, knowing that someone's hearing seemed keener than usual these days and he'd rather keep her in the dark for a bit longer. Fiddling with the wooden rails of what he guessed was the crib, he jumped back when the door creaked open, expecting Regina to still be in bed and Charlotte to be accompanying her.

Dressed in his school uniform, he closed the door behind him and was only satisfied when it clicked in response, allowing him to turn around to silently face the man that had a part in raising him. He didn't call him dad but he could, seeing him as a father figure for more than half of his life.

"What are you doing here?" He knew that school had started an hour ago yet there he stood, standing in front of the door with curious eyes and shuffling feet.

"This room is supposed to be empty..." Henry looked around at the blue walls, avoiding the eyes of the only other person in the room as if it were imperative to not look him in the eyes. He didn't want to; he was a hero and he had failed to live up to the fairytale, being his name, being his charm.

"You know we have to make room..." David added, playing along with him. He wasn't going to question him about school, or how he got away. He'd pretend, he'd allow ignorance to play it's game and spin it's wheels.

"Is that why you're here? To put..." His foot kicked softly at the boxes on the floor, "this stuff together?" His tone was hopeful and David knew that it was more of a loaded question than it appeared. He wanted to know why he was here. Why he hadn't gone with the fairytale in a dusty book that he had only given a second glance at? "She can do it herself, you know...She did it for me..." He mumbled, trying to believe that David's only purpose was putting up a crib, it had to be the only purpose; good guys didn't choose the bad guys.

Ever.

"Well..." David tapped the ground with the hammer, signaling for the boy to sit across from him. Henry did so, hesitantly and farther away than David intended, letting his untied shoelaces drag across the hardwood. "You know, I don't know if Emma told you but your mom was in the hospital too..." Dark eyes that had been elsewhere, met his briefly, turning away as if holding his stare would burn.

"So..." He was going to change the topic but David didn't mind, knowing that at least he knew, whether he chose to ignore it or not, "that's the only reason why you're here, right?" That damned hopeful tone reappeared and their eyes met, daring the other to bring up what neither of them had the gall to.

"You know..." David lifted his hand above Henry's open palm and dropped some screws, giving the boy something to do, "...you look a lot like your mother..."

His ambiguous stare gave way to a cheeky grin as he nodded, picking at the screws he was given, "I know, E-"

"Both of them," he added before Henry had a chance to discredit Regina. She was who he was originally talking about but rather than play the devil's advocate, he covered the situation with a proverbial blanket, not allowing any slip ups or excuses for Henry to act as though he hadn't been raised by someone who loved him for the past decade.

His smile fell, reduced to a child-like pout that David had worn not long before, only for different reasons. "She's...she's not my mom..." He mumbled, still not being able to look David in the face to say it to him. Each time he even thought about it, he looked away. Perhaps it was a male thing, not being able to directly disrespect his mother to the man that had treated him like his own son.

"You know...I think it might be time for you to come back home..." David added, looking the rails over before setting them aside to deal with the next pair.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Henry's head shook, hoping that he didn't mean what he said, that he and him weren't on the same page.

"Well it's been a couple months and I know your mom misses you and-"

"But you sent me away because she's the Evil Queen! She's still the Evil Queen, how does that change anything?!" Henry stood, getting a bit upset. First he upsets Emma, and leaves Mary Margaret, now he's trying to bring him back to a place he doesn't want to be.

"I let you spend some time with Emma while your mother and and I sorted some things out-It had nothing to do with her past-"

"You're lying..." He stepped back when David stood, not really trusting him; he had chosen dark over light, bad over good and maybe just maybe, it was because he _was _dark, because he _was _bad.

He threw the screws to the floor, not caring where they landed as he opened the blue door, only to have David following after him, not letting him go that easy, "Henry!" He whispered harshly, not wanting to upset Regina if he didn't have to.

The young brunette picked up on that, knowing that there was no other need to whisper. He was protecting the Evil Queen-The Evil Queen didn't deserve to be protected. "You are NOT a hero! You are not my family!" He voice rose, purposely, uncaring of who it harmed. "And she-" He pointed towards the bedroom, "Is the EVIL Queen. Emma will break the curse," his head shook with determination. "I know it..." Glistening brown eyes left him as he ran down the stairs, punctuating his leave with a slammed door and an uncaring stomp.

David sighed, running a hand over his eyes as he realized that it would take a lot more to get through to Henry. The kid was ingrained with the notion that everything is black and white, everyone is good and bad. He had demonized his own mother in his own mind and David was a part of that, they all had a part in that. Hopefully he wasn't too far gone to realize the truth, to realize that he could have two mother's without casting one away.

She had to have heard him, though the door was closed, the walls were thin and much had escaped from that small hallway, he knew it and he knew she knew it. Approaching the door, he was met with big curious eyes, similar to Henry's only softer. "Where'd Henry go?"Seeing her stand in the doorway, David bent over and picked her up, hoisting her on his hip before blowing raspberries on her cheeks.

Hopefully she hadn't heard.

His eyes glanced over to where Regina sat, edging the bed with blinked back tears and an attempt to hide the pain that she felt, the hurt. They say a mother is never supposed to lose her child; that's why the parents are supposed to go first. But what happens when the connection is severed? When the emotional and mental turmoil has all but killed you, longing to connect to a child you once swaddled against your chest, that once sucked on your finger for comfort. How much more can you take before the loss feels unimaginable? Till it feels like a death?

"Daddy, who's the Evil Queen?"

Unfortunately she _had _heard.


	19. Mater

_I am overworked and tired. I have Exams galore and I'm super, super iffy about this chap. I call it a kid's chap because it focuses on those affected by what's going on; it's something that I've been waiting to make time for, but also something that I really wanted to do. Quick question: Does it help with the Sunday to Sunday span if Sneak peeks are included at the end to hold you guys over? Sound off-Enjoy, I'll try to fix typos when there are no weights on my eyelids lol, Enjoy :)_

_-**iiwasalwaysthequeen**_

Charlotte Gracelynne Mills-Nolan was a curious young girl. She rarely heard the word 'no', partly because she was a little stickler for rules and was spoiled senselessly. The outdoors gave her a scare, preferring the heat of curling into her mother's side or the comfort in the crook of her father's neck. With dark hair and big brown eyes, she was the spitting image of her mother, carrying her temperament and sass. She was gentle, she was kind; she hated to see others upset and when she was upset, the Earth nearly stood still. You could never tell, and just like her mother, she hid it behind shrugged shoulders and silence.

Allergic to nearly everything that made childhood ah-mazing, she liked baking 'special treats' with her mommy since those were the only deserts she usually got. Waiting would usually include a good round of horsey, and hearing the astute Mayor spur like mare. _Anything for her little girl, _she'd say.

And Charlotte had no qualms with that.

Fortunately, like her father, she was easily distracted. From the Evil Queen to the funny looking panda in her coloring book, she could go from one thing to another. Perhaps she'd be reminded of it later and ask again but in the moment, wondering why panda's look like they have eyes on top of eyes was her main concern.

"She's coloring..." The door creaked behind him, seemingly mocking the slow footsteps he took towards the foot of the bed. She sat on the edge, sniffling softly as two fingers did the job of a Kleenex, wiping below her eyes at the subtle tears that threatened to stain her cheeks.

No, she wasn't going to sob; in fact, she was surprised that she had any tears left to shed and the well wasn't dried up. It was a sore spot if anything, a finger twisting in a wound that had yet to heal and ruthlessly pricked at her heart. So a few tears fell but she pulled it together, eyes blinking rapidly as she held up a hand before any advances could be made. She didn't want to be consoled and she really didn't want to be held-wait, that was a lie.

She did want to be consoled and she did want to be held.

She just didn't want to be disappointed. Allowing herself to be consoled involved staining his shirt with her tears, with the depths of her hearts and trusting him enough to not throw it back in her face.

And she didn't.

Allowing herself to be held involved pressing her head to the beat of his chest involved having the confidence to know that it would always be there, that it wouldn't leave, that it wouldn't stop.

And she wasn't.

"I um..." She smiled weakly, letting her glistening eyes say what she lacked the strength to. "..don't." She could see it in his eyes, the desire to hold her close, and he previously had-that morning he had. But this was different; when vulnerability set in and stability felt shaky while two legs felt like one, she couldn't depend on someone she didn't trust.

She knew that she had fell in before, only to end up in the deep side with no one to offer a life preserver, no one caring enough to swim out and save her. Not wanting to drown again, not willing to feel as though breathing was a challenge, she was guarded with him and sometimes it hurt but it was also necessary.

His nods were light though he continued towards her, seemingly denying her the only thing she asked for. When her eyes met his in a warning, he didn't see a scowl or a death glare, but...fear. Fearful of being hurt, fearful of being dropped, fearful of letting him in.

So he sat down beside her.

"David..." Her whispers were reminiscent of a plead, requesting the last bit of peace she needed to heal herself, yet denying the last bit needed to heal both of them; trust.

"I know..." He knew the boundaries: that he could hold her at night but in the light of day all the cracks seeming to have healed, coincidentally resurfaced. So his palm laid flat on her thigh, offering the most comfort he could give her, that could handle the cracks in the surface.

X

Understandably, she needed some time alone and he respected that. She had gotten used to dealing alone, and while there, he would have to get use to earning back what they had lost, what he had taken, what she had taken. It was a process that neither of them knew the steps to. They hadn't been on this road before and the journey would indeed be rocky but heeding each other's sensitivities was one of the ways to make it a little bit easier.

So with Charlotte hanging on two of his fingers with her own tiny ones, they strolled the corridor of the Sheriff's office, a smile plastered on her face. She never got to visit her daddy at work, usually going to play 'may-o' if need be. But David had an errand to run and he'd only be in the office for a second to pick up some reports, so little Charlotte tagged along.

"Daddy?" She peered up at him, calling out sweetly to elicit his attention.

He smirked, knowing that tone better than most. It was the same one Regina had used the other night when she asked for her special salad.

At 1 am.

"Yes, Charlie horse?" He pushed open the big glass doors and led her in by the fingers that held onto his thumb.

"What's my favorite cookie?"

He paused, giving it a thought before adjusting the bow on her head, "Hmmmm.." He tapped dramatically on his chin, "Is it...sugar cookies?"

"Uh huh..." She nodded, her smile growing larger as she lifted a brow, an eerie trademark of the person whom she spent the most time with.

He laughed, hating and loving the fact that even she needn't use words to communicate what she wanted. All she needed was to skirt around the issue and bat her eyelashes and he was putty in her hands. He could only be grateful that the one on the way was a boy, unsure of how he'd handle a house full of females that he'd indulge any wish to.

"Tell you what..." He bent down and in one swoop, she was in the air, giggling as he tickled her sides, "Maybe we'll go by Granny's and see if she has her 'special' cookies for you, okay?" It was a nice gesture, Granny having slaved over the perfect recipe that was conducive to Charlotte's allergies after what happened before.

"I thought you weren't coming in today?" David turned around as Charlotte's laughter died down and she was settled near his hip, turning with him to find his co-sheriff, his other daughter; the savior.

"Emma-"

"You're not staying right?" She didn't want placation, not with the way she felt. Not with the way he reopened her wounds only to not notice and leave her stinging, burning with a second abandonment. No-She couldn't afford to think like that, to be jealous of a cursed life, of a cursed family. But the first time he claimed he didn't have a choice, he HAD to send her away.

Well what was the excuse this time?

"Hiiii Miss Swan..." Charlotte waived shyly, calling the blonde Sheriff by the name she had heard her mother call her, not even noting the first name that usually came from her father's mouth.

"Hey..." Emma swallowed; she couldn't hold a grudge against a toddler that hadn't done anything to her, that was only an indirect variable in this situation. "..Charlotte." She gave the girl a weak smile before turning back around, going into the Sheriff's office that they both shared, that was the only thing that could separate the two besides the resentment between them.

David knew; he knew that he had hurt her but he didn't know how to fix it. He couldn't go back to Mary Margaret and that really wouldn't be a direct way of approaching THEIR problems. She had her own reasons, stemming back to being put in a tree with only a ten year old boy to care for her. He couldn't help but question where the other half of the resentment laid; if she was blaming Snow or it all rested on him, the man, the father, the head of the household.

The point of the matter was that she was wounded.

"Look what Auntie Ruby got you..." David reached in the top drawer of Ruby's desk beside them, pulling out one of Charlotte's infamous distracters.

The coloring book.

"Here..." He sat her in the swivel chair and she looked at him curiously, telling a change in the atmosphere but really not knowing the cause. She couldn't understand. So when a crayon was placed in her hand, she did what she did best: she colored.

Leaving Charlotte where he could keep an eye on her, he went into the glass box, usually known as a nicely isolated only today it feel like a glass box, fogged up with words no one was willing to say. "Emma-"

The blonde shook her head, walking to the file cabinet with a manila folder, "David, I don't want to talk-"

"Emma I know you're upset-" He wanted to fix things, he wanted her to know that her cries haven't fell on deaf ears. He wasn't ignoring her but things had to be taken one step at a time, one person at a time. Everything couldn't be handled at once, and in the process, he hadn't forgotten about her.

The cabinet that she had opened slammed with a punctuation he hadn't expected, he didn't know how deep this was, how hurt she was. "You don't know..." Her eyes met his, shining with the pain of a lost child, tearing with the pain of a lost woman, grieving the loss of a family she never got to have. "You have no idea what's going on with me..."

Which was true. He had no idea, absolutely no idea. The only thing he could do was sit back and take it because the truth was expelling from her, not lies. He hadn't taken the time to search her heart, to dig deep within her, too busy digging deep within himself, within his marriage.

"Don't...Don't come here and act like you know me, like you're my father..." The word fell on a hush, a hush that wouldn't dare pronounce itself because it stung enough. The pain was there, the remnants had no choice but to remain. "You...you didn't give a damn about what I felt before, when you just threw a bunch of fairytales at me and told me they were a part of who I was!" She sighed, tugging at the loops of her jeans, attempting to keep a cool that she hadn't had for a long time. "You just wanted me to take Henry so you and Regina could work out your farce of a marriage-And it is..it is a farce because you're married already..." She ceased his protests, holding up a hand, just as he had seen earlier.

"Emma, I...I didn't mean to-" He didn't mean to throw it on her but it was a lot for everybody. She wasn't the only one grappling with the new realizations. His whole life turned out to be some type of chess games and he could barely look himself in the mirror. He had just found out that he was laying with a woman that cursed any and all that he knew.

Everyone had things thrown on them.

"And then you have the audacity-To stay in the SAME hospital as your WIFE, and leave me, your supposed daughter, to tell her that her husband is shacking up with another woman..." Her eyes darkened, noting the anger that was rising within her. "That was NOT my job...You were supposed to end that relationship, not me." Her head shook at him, keeping the tears at bay. "And you don't even care...You just prance around with your new family...your daughter-You don't know what my favorite ANYTHING is because you don't care, you just..." She drew a shaky breath, refusing to yield to her anger, to her disappointment. It wasn't worth it; to wallow in the sorrows of something she couldn't obtain anyway. "You just don't care."

She didn't want fairytales, she didn't want enchanted forests, Evil Queens or magic trees of transportation. She wanted a mother, she wanted a father, she wanted a picket fence and a house.

She wanted a family.

And he seemed to be taunting her each day with what she wanted but didn't have. He had the daughter, the wife, the child on the way; he even had the picket fence and seemed to have no remorse over her lacking for it all, her missing out on it all. And that was part of the forgiveness that she couldn't give him. She couldn't give into letting him know that apologies did anything to mend the damage in her heart.

"Just...just get what you need and leave." She didn't want to look at him and honestly, it hurt to look at Charlotte. It was childish, it was low but she couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. She could help but wonder if he would have put her on his hip, ticking her sides and promising sugar cookies.

She couldn't help

But wonder

If.

X

"C'mon Charlie horse," Once again, he was holding a glass door open as the bells chimed above their heads and announced their entrance into the diner. Granny's eyes peeped over her glasses as she stood behind the counter, handing Ruby a bag to which she turned around, ignoring the Sheriff as though he was just air to look through. Before he could even process her subtle hostility, little hands pushed at the back of his calves, causing him to stumble from the doorway and further into the diner. "Char-Charlotte, what are you-"

He sighed, connecting the dots the for the small shy toddler. "Charlie come say hi to Ruby..." The once werewolf took a curious glance in his directions, watching as he coaxed a toddler from behind his legs, big brown eyes being the only things visible as she stretched the material of his jeans to hide her face.

David chuckled nervously, looking at Ruby with a sheepish smile and hands literally behind his back. "She um...she's missed you..."

"Awww..." Ruby cooed, a hand covering her heart as she looked at the little hands that held tight to David's jeans.

"But..like her mother, she doesn't know how to admit it.." He wriggled his legs to loosen her hold, "..so she hides.."

Ruby's lip poked out in mock sadness as she put her takeout bag down, a keyring on her index finger as she bent down in front of the Prince's legs, outstretched arms coaching the small May-o from behind her father. "There we go..." She picked Charlotte up in her arms and kissed her cheek with a wide grin. Charlotte's response was Kodak worthy, giggling wildly as she cupped Ruby's ear with her small fingers. Leaning in, Ruby's smile grew as the small whispers filled her ear. "She wants to know.." She paused, feeling Charlotte's palm tap her cheek so that she could finish relaying the message. Ruby laughed, waiting until the whispers stopped to finish. "...if Granny has her special cookies.

"Oh-" He opened his mouth to catch the attention of the diner matriarch only to have Ruby's hand on his arm, keeping him from continuing.

"Granny, do we have any of Charlotte's sugar cookies made?"

"Coming up!" Granny gave the toddler a small smile before heading back to the kitchen.

David turned to Ruby, eyes begging the question of why he was stopped, why he couldn't approach a woman that had been like a mother to Snow and-

It was self explanatory.

"Is she...wait a minute, she's _Granny_, _**Granny, **_isn't she?!" He exaggerated, hands mocking a crossbow from Granny's archery days

Biting her bottom lip, Ruby put Charlotte back down so that her two feet were on the floor yet her hand still clung to her keys, "Turns out my trigger is her trigger too..."

David's eyes wandered, attempting to look everywhere but Ruby's, to hide the fear in his eyes. "I um," Easily distracted, he looked down to see Charlotte's hand waving at the windows; but no one was there. "Charlie, who are you waving at?"

She giggled as Granny came back from the kitchen and handed Ruby another paper bag, casting another glare in the Prince's directions. Ruby handed the bag to David and Charlotte reached for it, her mouth setting into a pout when he wouldn't let her reach, "Charlie, who was it?"

She grumbled, coming down from her tippy toes with a pout, "Henry!" David looked back, no trace of an eleven year old skipping school again, only an empty sidewalk and a speeding black Mercedes.

Black Mercedes.

Wait.

X

Contradictions. They seemed to surround her, leaving room for breath nonexistent and the concept of freedom far fetched. She knew what she was supposed to do but always found herself doing the opposite. Her words and actions never seemed to match up and just, just when things seemed to be fine-they were oh so far from it. Contradictions, misconceptions, failures of the mind and black holes of reality, it's what she lived in. Perhaps slivers of light found their way in but she felt as though she was just jumping from fallibility to fallibility. It didn't feel good, it didn't feel safe, but it was so common that it felt right.

That which was wrong felt right;

Oh, the contradictions.

She was speeding in a quiet town that she was Mayor of; she was supposed to be in bed, maybe even sleeping, but she found herself on the edge of a leather seat with her hands gripping firmly to a matte steering wheel.

No, she hadn't given birth to him, but she loved him. She raised him, she nurtured him, she did the mothering and yet some were still intent on negating it. She could mother him but she wasn't his mother. For a decade, she was his mother but the second blonde curls bounced into her life she became nothing more than a temporary fix in his life, holding a place for the real thing.

He was supposed to be in school not at the playground. The attendants were supposed to call her, not the Sheriff. Without the right connections, she'd probably be ignorant to anything that had happened, eyes and ears everywhere being one of her lasting strong suits. So when her tires cracked against the crushed gravel, she was prepared for the contradictions, she was prepared for the misconceptions, she was prepared for battle.

But not one of 2 against 1.

"Aren't you supposed to be instructing children on how to color inside the lines?" Her question was directed at the pixie haired school teacher but her eyes wandered to her son, nursing an injured knee and crimson stained uniform.

Emma snorted, a hand leaving Henry's shoulder as she approached the Mayor, thunder seeming to roll in right behind her. "Go home, Regina; we've got it from here." Their eyes met and for a moment, just a moment, it was a battle of the wills. Who would snap first? Who would yell first? Who would be the first to lose all sense of composure?

Regina nodded, pressing a fiery tongue to the inside of her cheek ans she fought to maintain what little sanity she had left to deal with these types of situations. She felt spent, as a person, as a woman, as mother-just spent.

"So let me get this straight, Ms. Swan..." Hands balled in the pockets of her open coat, she stood a foot away from the blonde and her mother, fearing neither of them. There was realistically nothing they could do; the town wasn't awake, _they _were but they had to live in the bubble that was her world, her game; her rules. "Henry skipped school this morning, something I suspect your..." her eyes narrowed indistinctively, "..friend, his teacher, failed to tell you because somehow, after leaving my our home he ended up here...on the playground...injured..." She leaned forward, a brow cocked and a doubting smirk playing on her lips, "Yes, I suppose you do 'have it from here' when you can't even get him to school in the morning."

"Regina, you-" Snow paused as if she were deciding if she really wanted to get involved, if she could even look the woman in the eyes without repressing violent urges. She decided that she could. "You don't get to talk to her like that, she's his mother-"

"I'm gonna be in the car..." Henry mumbled, holding the bandages to his knee as he stood up cautiously from the bench.

Regina eyed his movements, catching the brief eye contact between him and the Sheriff, the small glance, the approving smile she gave him. Approving what, she asked herself as he walked passed her without a second glance. Approval of throwing people away? Of treating people that care about him, that love him, as glass to look through, just there for decoration?

"Henry..." She had backed up, she had let him have his fun but she didn't like this. Prolonged distance does nothing but add dormancy to their issues,to what they couldn't talk about. How wide would the gap get before someone said anything about it? "Get in the car...my car.."

"What!?" It a simultaneous threesome from all present Charmings, eyes wide as they looked at her. She was unmoving, not even turning her back to meet her son's eyes, in turn, choosing to mock that of the princess and the savior's.

"Regina, you have no right..." Snow shook her head, stepping closer, dangerously closer.

Bewilderment took hold of her features as she took the audacity of her enemy to heart. She had no right? No right? "I have every right to do as I please when it comes to the best interest of MY son. Henry-car, now."

Henry turned to Emma, hearing the sounds of crushed gravel behind him as a brown truck pulled up to the scene, telling of a moment that was bound to come. Silence struck between them, bystanders watching, children backing away, wind howling and three women with no intentions of backing down when it came to the young boy standing between them.

"Everything alright?"

She couldn't help but silently curse his presence. She wanted to handle it alone, to assert herself without having to consult him, to independently make the choice rather than being faced with a quadruple Charming and an uncertainty of the way the chips would fall.

"Everything is fine..." She responded, never turning around as Emma's steps closed the gap between them, fear nor reticence resting between them. Just hostility, anger-resentment, a powerful combination.

Before Emma could defend her motherhood, a voice spoke over them and Snow turned away, not wanting to hear his voice; Emma smirked and Regina was frozen to her spot, seething beneath the face she had to wear. "Regina-car, now."

Her head whipped around, brows scrunched as he came closer to the group, "Excuse me?!"

He dipped his head near hers, whispering discreetly as she shifted her weight to keep from losing her feet on the ground, her sanity, her control. "You're supposed to be on bed rest-I don't know what happened but whatever it is, I'll take care of it. You make a scene-I _take you_ the car myself. Now I'm asking you...Regina, please get in your car..I'll handle it."

His words finished playing in her ear and she never even flinched, breathing evenly as her ears reddened with the anger, the tinge of embarrassment, the desire to smack the words form his mouth. To do what was wrong for what was right or do what was right for what was wrong; that is what she was faced with.

Once again, oh the contradictions.

She looked over Emma only to see the smug indignation of victory, as if her retreat was equivalent to signing Henry over to her. Snow's eyes averted, probably due to the proximity of her and David but she could care less about Snow's level of comfort. Henry leaned towards Emma, straying back to his path with a light limp as he bent forward with bandages to press to his knees.

It took everything, absolutely everything for her to walk away. Every step, every movement seemed to drain the pride from her, drain the color from her. All she could do was peek in David's truck to see that Charlotte was sound asleep in the back and all that was left for her to do was get in her car.

As she was told.

"Whatever is going on, can we discuss it in a more private setting?" David questioned, stepping forward when Regina walked away.

"I have to get back to the school.." Mary Margaret made haste with going around the group, grabbing her bag from the bench as she made a run for it. She wasn't ready to face him and that was understandable. It would take time.

But Emma, they had just talked that morning. Or more, he was lectured and she aired her grievances, her disappointments. "There's nothing to talk about...He's my son and I'm taking him home."

David rolled his eyes, really not wanting to do this but he leaned in anyway; Out of earshot from Henry, he said the only thing that could bend her will. "Legally, Regina and I have custody of Henry and if you take him without our say so it's abduction. If you-"

"What the hell is this? Blackmail?" She stepped back, eyes wide, "What? Send your mistress to the car so you can do her dirty work?!"

"Henry, get in the bug..." Henry stepped back at David's word, making it there as fast as he could with his minor injury.

"I am telling you what will happen, whether it's through me or Regina...It. Will. Happen..." He shrugged, not wanting to go there but it was true. Regina would go guns-a-blazin' without a care to whose head was lost in the process. "I know you're still upset but maybe if we can-"

"Henry...Is the only reason why... I don't care about resolving things with you right now and I damn sure don't give a rat's ass about resolving anything with Regina. But Henry shouldn't have to live in a state of tug-a-war 24/7...I'll come when I'm ready.."

And she turned a back on him.

Crushed gravel sounded once more and Regina was pulling out.

Mary Margaret was gone.

And he stood, in all the contradictions.

X

When he came in the door, he knew there was something waiting for him. Charlotte had to be put down for her nap and when she was, he had to find what was waiting for him. What was stirring in a pot of anguish, anger, maybe even rage. He had reevaluated what had happened dozens of times and could almost pinpoint what was going to happen, what he was going to get burned for.

One step into the kitchen.

White knuckles held to the edge of the counter, a rocking motion keeping them glued to the surface as she waited, head lifting when his boots hit the linoleum. She looked up with red eyes, but she hadn't cried, she hadn't shed a tear. She was angry; legitimately angry-

That's what was waiting for him.

"I am NOT Snow White..." Her tone was low and guttural, cutting him like a double edged sword as he stood on the opposite side of the counter. Her eyes never left his, barely blinking so that he got every word, every sentiment that she was throwing at him; he would miss nothing. "Don't ever-"

"I was worried about you-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" She yelled, tired of feeling as though she were in the wrong, the guilty party, the left rather than the right. "Don't you dare trivialize this and turn it on me-I-I was worried about MY SON! Because _I_ am HIS mother..." She shook her head, leaning on the counter, "And you come over there and talk to me like I am a CHILD in need of supervision-What the hell..." The yelling had ended and the low scolding returned, "..did I tell you about telling me what to do?"

Brows knitted, face red and eyes nearing a black, the counter was the only thing keeping her from throwing things. She was upset, she was embarrassed and it angered her that her feelings only doubled upon his arrival. He did nothing to make it better. Before he even had a chance to response, she pushed herself off of the counter and stormed out of the kitchen without a second glance in his direction. She couldn't look at him without wanting to hurl the nearest thing at his head, so it was for the best.

He took his lashing, shifting his weight. He'd wait for her to calm down, he'd talk to her then. She was too upset to have a calm conversation and he figured any interaction would make things worse, so he'd-

She wasn't a screamer but when the sudden yelp hit his ears, his body was reacting before his mind was. Near running out of the tiled kitchen, his eyes found her on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, palms flat on the floor.

"I-I tripped...I'm fine.." She heard his steps but she didn't want his worry, she didn't want the contact. "I caught myself-I-"

She didn't have a chance to deny him, his hands finding her back, her waist, any support she needed to sit up. "Regina-"

"I'm fine..." She shook her head, holding steadfast to her stomach as he brushed the hair from her face, looking over her body for any cuts in her clothes or skin. "David..."

She just wanted to get up from the floor and when she called out to him, he figured that out soon enough. His hands reached for her sides and she was hesitant, still angry, still fuming, yet still holding to his arms as he pulled her to her feet. Finding her footing, she exhaled slowly as she grasped the reality of the moment, not wanting to panic, not wanting to make something worse then it was.

She just

Fell.

**T**

**B**

**C**


End file.
